Dealing with Data: Bringing Order to Chaos

Journal article, 2024

Data is key for rapid and continuous delivery of customer value. By collecting data from products in the field, companies in the embedded systems domain can measure and monitor product performance and they get the opportunity to provide customers with insights and data-driven services. However, while the notion of data-driven development is not new, embedded systems companies are facing a situation in which data volumes are growing exponentially and this is not without its challenges. Suddenly, the cost of collecting, storing and processing data becomes a concern and while there is prominent research on different aspects of data-driven development, there is little guidance for how to reason about business value versus costs of data. In this paper, we present findings from case study research conducted in close collaboration with four companies in the embedded systems domain. The contribution of this paper is a framework that provides a holistic understanding of the multiple dimensions that need to be considered when reasoning about business value versus cost of collecting, storing and processing data.