Operationalizing Software Engineering Theories for Practical Validation
For software engineering researchers, this provides a methodological guideline to ensure theories are empirically testable and practically useful, though it is an incremental contribution to existing operationalization frameworks.
The paper proposes a systematic procedure for operationalizing abstract concepts in software engineering theories into measurable elements, bridging the gap between theory and empirical validation. It extends existing frameworks and illustrates the approach with the DevOps Team Taxonomies Theory, aiming to deliver actionable insights for practitioners.
Software Engineering often adapts theory-building frameworks from the social sciences to address socio-technical complexity. The key phases of the theory-building process are conceptual development, operationalization, testing, and application. Operationalization translates abstract concepts into measurable elements for empirical validation. This phase is essential for delivering the practical utility required by an applied science like Software Engineering. We propose a systematic procedure for the operationalization phase that bridges the gap between abstract concepts and empirical validation, ensuring the resulting theory is both rigorous and practically useful. We extend the operationalization framework proposed by Sjøberg et al. and formulate non-causal hypotheses following Dubin's approach. Our procedure defines variables, selects indicators, and systematically derives hypotheses. We present a replicable, evidence-based methodological guideline that preserves a clear chain of evidence and supports practical validation. We illustrate the procedure using the DevOps Team Taxonomies Theory. This guideline provides a transparent chain of evidence from theory to testable elements, empowering researchers to ground theoretical advancements in empirical evidence and deliver actionable insights for practitioners.