ICSE 2006 WORKSHOP

The Role of Abstraction in Software Engineering:
Organizational, Managerial and Cognitive Perspectives

May 21st, 2006, Shanghai, China
In conjunction with the 28th International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE)
http://www.isr.uci.edu/icse-06/index.html

WORKSHOP ORGANIZERS
Jeff Kramer, Imperial College Orit Hazzan, Technion - IIT

WORKSHOP PROGRAM

MOTIVATION
Why is it that some software engineers are able to produce clear, elegant designs and programs, while others cannot? One hypothesis is that the answer lies in abstraction: the ability to perform abstract thinking and to exhibit abstraction skills.

Abstraction is a cognitive means by which engineers, mathematicians and other deal with complexity. It covers both aspects of removing detail as well as the identification of generalisations or common features, and has been recognized as a crucial skill for software engineering professionals. There are many explanations for the importance of the notion of abstraction. Among others, the intangibility of software systems, the need to cope with complexity, and the ability to examine many topics in software engineering at different levels of detail and abstraction according to the purpose, are presented as strong justification for the central role of abstraction.  

The one-day workshop consists of theory- and practice-based presentations, group work and discussions. As the workshop title indicates, the workshop addresses organizational, managerial and cognitive perspectives at abstraction.

SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES
The objective is to come to a better understanding of the nature and role of abstraction. Specifically,
- Experience sharing with respect to case studies in which abstraction plays a central role;
- Examination of different software engineering topics from the perspective of abstraction;
- Exploration of how abstraction may foster organizational processes;
- Evaluation of different ways to teach abstraction in software organizations and in academia.

WORKSHOP COMMITTEE
Daniel M. Berry, University of Waterloo, Canada

Shing Chi Cheung, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong

Yael Dubinsky, Technion, Israel

Anthony Finkelstein, University College London, UK

Carlo Ghezzi, Politecnico di Milano, Italia

Leah Goldin, Afeka - Tel Aviv Academic College of Engineering, Israel

Shimon Schocken, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC), Israel

Tetsuo Tamai, The University of Tokyo, Japan

Jim Tomayko, Carnegie Mellon University, USA

Sebastian Uchitel, Imperial College London, UK