NAVIGATING SUSTAINABLE SOFTWARE ENGINEERING


Below is an excerpt from my university dissertation, a chapter on sustainable software engineering:

Sustainable software engineering, defined as meeting user needs while minimizing environmental impacts (Amsel, et al., 2011), is a concept that hasn't gained universal acceptance within the software engineering community. Conflicting definitions persist across the industry (Manotas, et al., 2016; Kasurinen, et al., 2017; Groher & Weinreich, 2017). In contrast, Green IT, a well-studied area, focuses on the efficient design of data centers and IT architecture to reduce energy consumption and costs (Molla, et al., 2008).

Defining Sustainable Software Engineering


Internally encouraging green software development involves the practice of sustainable software engineering, where software is developed with a low environmental impact throughout its lifecycle, constantly evaluated, and improved for sustainability (Dick & Naumann, 2010). Berkhout and Hertin’s (2001) literature on first-, second-, and third-order IT impacts on the environment, illustrated in Figure 6, along with the GREENSOFT model (Naumann, et al., 2011), serves as a foundation for understanding these impacts.

 

Furthermore, Naumann (2015) provides summarized definitions based on the GREENSOFT model, emphasizing that sustainable software engineering involves producing software that meets sustainability objectives, has minimal negative social and environmental impacts during usage, and reinforces sustainable development.

 

Models and Approaches in Sustainable Software Engineering

 

Mahmoud and Ahmad’s (2013) Green Model for Sustainable Software Engineering centers around software promoting Green IT and the process itself. In contrast, Shenoy and Eeratta’s model (2011) focuses on various phases of software development, arguing that efficient software inherently reduces energy consumption. Literature explores sustainability in software processes, covering aspects like software energy consumption, quality requirements, and introducing metrics to measure sustainability (Albertao, 2004; Mahaux, et al., 2011; Käfer, 2009).

 

Amri (2014) introduces the GS3M model, extending software engineering to five dimensions: environmental, technical, social, individual, and economic. While theoretically solid, the model's limitation lies in its focus on technical aspects, requiring further study for real-world case application (Amri & Saoud, 2014).

 

Cerf (2017) argues that designers and architects bear responsibility for the long-term consequences of their software design. While product managers may not have direct responsibility for product design, it remains a crucial element (Kittlaus & Clough, 2009; Van De Weerd, et al., 2006; Ebert, 2009). The i* framework by Cabot (2009) explores alternative design options during software development, though its application beyond the case study may be limited.

 

Measuring Energy Consumption in Sustainable Software Engineering

 

To measure energy consumption, various calculation methods are proposed. From desktop applications' energy consumption during execution to rating energy efficiency by source code instrumentation, literature presents multiple approaches (Dick, et al., 2011; Johann, et al., 2012). However, none specifically measure the carbon footprint of a product.

 

Vickery and Mickoleit (2012) introduce effects of ICT products on other products' environmental footprint, including optimization, dematerialization, induction effects, and degradation. Kern’s (2015) study, based on retrospective data, highlights assumptions and considerations in measuring the environmental impact of ICT products, emphasizing the need to consider the impact of cloud computing on software engineers.

 

While more literature is emerging, the majority is found in conference papers rather than academic journals. This points to the need for further industry research and practical implementation of the various frameworks discussed. As the field continues to evolve, considerations for the environmental impact of software engineering processes and products remain a crucial aspect of the discourse.


References:

  • Albertao, F., 2004. Sustainable software engineering. [Online] Available at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/5507536/Sustainable-Software-Engineering#about [Accessed 18 06 2023].
  • Amri, R. & Saoud, N., 2014. Towards a Generic Sustainable Software Model. Cochin, India, s.n.
  • Amsel, N., Ibrahim, Z., Malik, A. & Tomlinson, B., 2011. Toward sustainable software engineering: NIER track. s.l., ICSE.
  • Berkhout, F. & Hertin, J., 2001. Impacts of Information and Communication Technologies on Environmental Sustainability: Speculations and Evidence, Report to the OECD, 2001. [Online] Available at: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/4/6/1897156.pdf [Accessed 03 06 2023].
  • Cabot, J. et al., 2009. Integrating sustainability in decision-making processes: a modelling strategy. s.l., ICSE: 31st International Conference on Software Engineering, pp. 207-210.
  • Cerf, V., 2017. A brittle and fragile future. Communications of the ACM, 60(7), p. 7.
  • Dick, M. et al., 2011. Measurement and rating of software-induced energy consumption of desktop PCs and servers. Aachen, Ispra, EnviroInfo.
  • Dick, M. & Naumann, S., 2010. Enhancing software engineering processes towards sus- tainable software product design. Cologne/Bonn, EnviroInfo.
  • Ebert, C., 2009. Software Product Management. Crosstalk, 22(1), pp. 15-19.
  • Groher, I. & Weinreich, R., 2017. An interview study on sustainability concerns in software development projects. s.l., SEAA.
  • Johann, T., Dick, M., Kern, E. & Naumann, S., 2012. How to measure energy-efficiency of software: metrics and measurement results. Zurich, Switzerland, Proceedings of the First International Workshop on Green and Sustainable Software (GREENS) 2012, held in conjunction with ICSE 2012, The International Conference on Software Engineering.
  • Käfer, G., 2009. Green SE: ideas for including energy efficiency into your software projects. Vancouver, Technical Briefing (TB2), 31st International Conference on Software Engineering.
  • Kasurinen, J., Palacin-Silva, M. & Vanhala, E., 2017. What concerns game developers?: A study on game development processes, sustainability and metrics. s.l., Proceedings of the 8th Workshop on Emerging Trends in Software Metrics, WETSoM ’17, pp. 15-21.
  • Kern, E., Dick, M., Naumann, S. & Hiller, T., 2015. Impacts of software and its engineering on the carbon footprint of ICT. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, Volume 52, pp. 53-61.
  • Kittlaus, H. & Clough, P., 2009. Software Product Management and Pricing. Key Success Factors for Software Organizations.. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer.
  • Mahaux, M., Heymans, P. & Saval, G., 2011. Discovering sustainability requirements: an experience report. Berlin, Heidelberg, Requirements Engineering: Foundation for Software Quality, 17th International Working Conference, REFSQ.
  • Mahmoud, S. & Ahmad, I., 2013. A green model for sustainable software engineering. International Journal of Software Engineering and its Applications, 7(4), pp. 55-74.
  • Manotas, I. et al., 2016. An empirical study of practitioners’ perspectives on green software engineering. s.l., Proceedings of the 38th international conference on software engineering, pp. 237-248.
  • Molla, A. et al., 2008. E-readiness to G-readiness: developing a green information technology readiness framework. Christchurch, 19th Australasian Conference on Information Systems.
  • Naumann, S., Dick, M., Kern, E. & Johann, T., 2011. The GREENSOFT Model: A reference model for green and sustainable software and its engineering. Sustainable Computing: Informatics and Systems, 1(4), pp. 294-304.
  • Naumann, S., Kern, E., Dick, M. & Johann, T., 2015. Sustainable software engineering: Process and quality models, life cycle, and social aspects. In: ICT Innovations for Sustainability. s.l.:Springer International Publishing, pp. 191-205.
  • Shenoy, S. & Eeratta, R., 2011. Green software development model: an approach towards sustainable software development. s.l., India Conference (INDICON), 2011 Annual IEEE.
  • Van De Weerd, I. et al., 2006. Towards a reference framework for software product management. s.l., IEEE, pp. 319-322.
  • Vickery, G. & Mickoleit, A., 2012. Greener and smarter: information technology can improve the environment in many ways. In: Broadband networks, smart grids and climate change. New York, NY: Springer, pp. 33-37.

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