
6 Empirical Research in Software Engineering
method, or process (Kitchenham etal. 1995). The effect of a change in an organization
can be studied using case study research. Case studies increase the understanding of the
phenomenon under study. For example, a case study can be used to examine whether a
unied model language (UML) tool is effective for a given project or not. The initial and
new concepts are analyzed and explored by exploratory case studies, whereas the already
existing concepts are tested and improvised by conrmatory case studies.
The phases included in the case study are presented in Figure 1.4. The case study
design phase ...