This book contains the refereed proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Software Business (ICSOB) held in Potsdam, Germany, in June 2013. The theme of the event was "From Physical Products to Software Services and Solutions." The 15 full papers, seven short papers, and six doctoral symposium papers accepted for ICSOB were selected from 44 submissions and are organized in sections on: software business models and business process modeling; IT markets and software industry; IT within organizations; software product management; cloud computing; entrepreneurship and startup companies; software platforms and software ecosystems; and doctoral symposium.

This book provides essential insights on the adoption of modern software engineering practices at large companies producing software-intensive systems, where hundreds or even thousands of engineers collaborate to deliver on new systems and new versions of already deployed ones. It is based on the findings collected and lessons learned at the Software Center (SC), a unique collaboration between research and industry, with Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg University and Malmö University as academic partners and Ericsson, AB Volvo, Volvo Car Corporation, Saab Electronic Defense Systems, Grundfos, Axis Communications, Jeppesen (Boeing) and Sony Mobile as industrial partners. The 17 chapters present the “Stairway to Heaven” model, which represents the typical evolution path companies move through as they develop and mature their software engineering capabilities. The chapters describe theoretical frameworks, conceptual models and, most importantly, the industrial experiences gained by the partner companies in applying novel software engineering techniques. The book’s structure consists of six parts. Part I describes the model in detail and presents an overview of lessons learned in the collaboration between industry and academia. Part II deals with the first step of the Stairway to Heaven, in which R&D adopts agile work practices. Part III of the book combines the next two phases, i.e., continuous integration (CI) and continuous delivery (CD), as they are closely intertwined. Part IV is concerned with the highest level, referred to as “R&D as an innovation system,” while Part V addresses a topic that is separate from the Stairway to Heaven and yet critically important in large organizations: organizational performance metrics that capture data, and visualizations of the status of software assets, defects and teams. Lastly, Part VI presents the perspectives of two of the SC partner companies. The book is intended for practitioners and professionals in the software-intensive systems industry, providing concrete models, frameworks and case studies that show the specific challenges that the partner companies encountered, their approaches to overcoming them, and the results. Researchers will gain valuable insights on the problems faced by large software companies, and on how to effectively tackle them in the context of successful cooperation projects.

This book contains the refereed proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Software Business, ICSOB 2015, held in Braga, Portugal, in June 2015. The theme of the event was "Enterprising Cities" focusing on a noticeable spillover of software within other industries enabling new business models: Companies bundle their physical products and software services into solutions and start to sell independent software products in addition to physical products. The 16 full, five short, and three doctoral symposium papers accepted for ICSOB were selected from 42 submissions. The papers span a wide range of issues related to contemporary software business—from strategic aspects that include external reuse, ecosystem participation, and acquisitions to operational challenges associated with running software business.

This book illustrates how goal-oriented, automated measurement can be used to create Lean organizations and to facilitate the development of Lean software, while also demonstrating the practical implementation of Lean software development by combining tried and trusted tools. In order to be successful, a Lean orientation of software development has to go hand in hand with a company’s overall business strategy. To achieve this, two interrelated aspects require special attention: measurement and experience management. In this book, Janes and Succi provide the necessary knowledge to establish “Lean software company thinking,” while also exploiting the latest approaches to software measurement. A comprehensive, company-wide measurement approach is exactly what companies need in order to align their activities to the demands of their stakeholders, to their business strategy, etc. With the automatic, non-invasive measurement approach proposed in this book, even small and medium-sized enterprises that do not have the resources to introduce heavyweight processes will be able to make their software development processes considerably more Lean. The book is divided into three parts. Part I, “Motivation for Lean Software Development,” explains just what “Lean Production” means, why it can be advantageous to apply Lean concepts to software engineering, and which existing approaches are best suited to achieving this. Part II, “The Pillars of Lean Software Development,” presents the tools needed to achieve Lean software development: Non-invasive Measurement, the Goal Question Metric approach, and the Experience Factory. Finally, Part III, “Lean Software Development in Action,” shows how different tools can be combined to enable Lean Thinking in software development. The book primarily addresses the needs of all those working in the field of software engineering who want to understand how to establish an efficient and effective software development process. This group includes developers, managers, and students pursuing an M.Sc. degree in software engineering.

Supply Chain Management (SCM) has always been an important aspect of an enterprise’s business model and an effective supply chain network is essential to remaining competitive in a global environment. By properly managing the flow of goods and services, businesses can operate more efficiently while managing most of the workload behind-the-scenes. The Handbook of Research on Global Supply Chain Management is an in-depth reference source that covers emerging issues and relevant applications of information pertaining to supply chain management from an international perspective. Featuring coverage on topics such as the global importance of SCMs to strategies for producing an effective supply chain, this comprehensive publication is an essential resource for academics and business professionals alike interested in uncovering managerial insight and logistics solutions.

Understanding Products as Services serves as an indispensable guide for navigating the hybrid economy, enabling you to leverage the integration of hardware and software, and propel your organization to the forefront of innovation and success.

Whether you’re thinking about starting a new business or growing an existing one, Ready, Fire, Aim has what you need to succeed in your entrepreneurial endeavors. In it, self-made multimillionaire and bestselling author Masterson shares the knowledge he has gained from creating and expanding numerous businesses and outlines a focused strategy for guiding a small business through the four stages of entrepreneurial growth. Along the way, Masterson teaches you the different skills needed in order to excel in this dynamic environment.