Software producing organizations (SPO) face challenges every day. Whether they are open source consortia or commercial software product companies, they all face the challenges of changing demands, rapidly evolving technology, and a dynamic ecosystem in which their products and services need to operate. SPOs need to rethink their operating models and benefit from current and future trends. E.g. agile software development and DevOps allow them to respond swiftly to changes in their environment, embracing uncertainty. Particularly in conjunction with machine learning and artificial intelligence, SPOs can generate strategic competitive advantages. Particularly companies with a long history in a given domain, such as SAP and Volkswagen, seem to be too comfortable with their status quo. Meanwhile, smaller companies drive innovation on many fronts. Examples are Provenance¹ that benefits from blockchain technology to revolutionize trust in goods, or Tesla² and Local Motors³ that push autonomous cars into consumer markets.

The challenge to make these organizations successful is multi-disciplinary. First, there exist technology challenges, such as eliciting and prioritizing requirements, dealing with platforms and technology standards, and operating in complex technology landscapes that constrain and enable their technology. Secondly, there exist adoption challenges: organizations need to find ways to convince their target users to adopt their technologies and to coordinate evolving technologies to provide the most valuable end-user experience. Thirdly, there exist business model challenges, where these organizations must find ways to maximize profit from their innovations and technologies. Because of the pervasiveness of software, the challenges are observed everywhere in the economy, whether it is logistics, online marketing, or e-health. Furthermore, they are applicable to organizations in every stage of development, whether it is a software startup or a software giant that has influenced the market consistently for decades.

Hence, this Dagstuhl Seminar invites thought leaders from academia and industry to share their knowledge and experiences. Participants are asked to share a short position statement of max 300 words and participate in the development of a groundbreaking research agenda. These efforts aim to increase visibility and impact of software production research and to set a course for the next decades.

¹https://www.provenance.org/
²https://www.tesla.com/
³https://localmotors.com/meet-olli

Creative Commons BY 3.0 DE

Pekka Abrahamsson, Jan Bosch, Sjaak Brinkkemper, and Alexander Mädche

• Pekka Abrahamsson (University of Jyväskylä, FI) [dblp]
• Rahul C. Basole (Georgia Institute of Technology - Atlanta, US) [dblp]
• Jan Bosch (Chalmers University of Technology - Göteborg, SE) [dblp]
• Sjaak Brinkkemper (Utrecht University, NL) [dblp]
• Christoph Bussler (Oracle Labs - Redwood Shores, US) [dblp]
• Michael Cusumano (MIT - Camridge, US) [dblp]
• Jens Förderer (Universität Mannheim, DE) [dblp]
• Samuel A. Fricker (FH Nordwestschweiz - Windisch, CH) [dblp]
• Paul Grünbacher (Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, AT) [dblp]
• Robert Heinrich (KIT - Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, DE) [dblp]
• Armin Heinzl (Universität Mannheim, DE) [dblp]
• Mika Helenius (TIVIA - Espoo, FI) [dblp]
• Georg Herzwurm (Universität Stuttgart, DE) [dblp]
• Helena Holmström Olsson (Malmö University, SE) [dblp]
• Sami Hyrynsalmi (Tampere University of Technology, FI) [dblp]
• Slinger Jansen (Utrecht University, NL) [dblp]
• Zhi Jin (Peking University, CN) [dblp]
• Hans-Bernd Kittlaus (Inno Tivum Consulting - Rheinbreitbach, DE) [dblp]
• Thomas Kude (ESSEC Business School - Cergy Pontoise, FR) [dblp]
• Alexander Mädche (KIT - Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, DE) [dblp]
• Tiziana Margaria (University of Limerick, IE) [dblp]
• Efi Papatheocharous (RISE SICS - Stockholm, SE, SE) [dblp]
• Balasubramaniam Ramesh (Georgia State University - Atlanta, US) [dblp]
• Guenther Ruhe (University of Calgary, CA) [dblp]
• Kari Smolander (Aalto University, FI) [dblp]
• Diomidis Spinellis (Athens University of Economics and Business, GR) [dblp]
• Pasi Tyrväinen (University of Jyväskylä, FI) [dblp]
• Xiaofeng Wang (Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, IT) [dblp]
• Karl Werder (Universität Duisburg - Essen, DE) [dblp]
• Krzysztof Wnuk (Blekinge Institute of Technology - Karlskrona, SE) [dblp]