Skip to content

Toggle service links

You are here

  1. Home
  2. Dr Leonor Barroca

Dr Leonor Barroca

Profile summary

  • Central Academic Staff
  • Senior Lecturer in Computing
  • Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
  • School of Computing & Communications
  • leonor.barroca

Professional biography

I am a Senior Lecturer in Computing. Previously I worked as a researcher at the University of York, UK, and as an auxiliary professor at the Universidade do Minho, Portugal. 

I have a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Southampton, UK, an M.Sc. in Computation,  from the University of Oxford, UK, and a  degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Universidade do Porto, Portugal. I have also a Postgraduate Certificate in Development Management, an MA in Online and Distance Education, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Business Administration, from The Open University, UK.

 

Research interests

I am a member of the Agile Research Network (agileresearchnetwork.org/); this is a collaboration between the Open University, University of Central Lancashire and an industry body, the Agile Business Consortium (https://www.agilebusiness.org), aiming to bridge the gap between academia and industry in the field of agile development. Within this network we have worked with many practitioners using agile in many different sectors of activity, including the charity sector, public service, and higher education institutions. More recently we have been looking into the application of agile in a wider context than that of software development, in particular, in agile transformation and business agility. 

Previously, my research interests were moslty in the software engineering area bridging the gap between requirements and design. I am also interested in the design of, and use of technology for, distance education in software engineering.

Teaching interests

I am mostly involved with teaching of software engineering at a distance both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. I chair the main software engineering module and the final year project in the Computing & IT undergraduate degree.

I am a qualification lead for the software engineering strand of the Computing & IT undergraduate degree.

Impact and engagement

I collaborate on a regular basis for research with colleagues across countries such as Norway, New Zealand, Switzerland, Brazil and Portugal.

I have been involved with a diversity of higher education institutions as academic reviewer, critical friend, external examiner, assessor and member and chair of validation panels.

External collaborations

Recent activities include:

  • participating in a bid with colleagues in a bid to FAPESP, Brazil;
  • co-chairing 2 international workshops on Agile Transformation with external colleagues;
  • co-publication with external colleagues on agile transformation, distance education and software engineering;
  • member of programme committees and editorial boards.
  • Agency of Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education (A3ES), Portugal
  • University of Carleton, Canada
  • University of Victoria, New Zealand
  • Univeresity of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland
  • SINTEF, Norway
  • Universidade de S. Paulo (USP), Universidade Federal de S. Carlos, Universidade Estadual de Maringá (UEM), Pontificia Universidade Católica Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Universidade Federal do Sergipe, Brazil
  • The Arab Open University
  • Botho University, Botswana

Research groups

NameTypeParent Unit
CRC: Software Engineering and DesignGroupFaculty of Mathematics, Computing and Technology

 

Externally funded projects

ABC Ltd (Formerly DSDM) 7
RoleStart dateEnd dateFunding source
Co-investigator01 Feb 201931 Jul 2022ABC Ltd Agile Business Consortium Ltd

The Agile Research Network has been running since the beginning of 2013, with regular funding from Agile Business Consortium (formerly DSDM Consortium), plus expenses and support from industrial partners. The project has three main aims: to generate original, applied research by explicating the detail of the challenges experienced by Agile software practitioners: to bring existing research (ours and others') to the attention of practice, and test its applicability: and through the first two, to bridge the gap between research and practice in software development. Throughout this work dissemination with the collaborator organization, to researchers, and to the wider practitioner community is achieved through publications and conference activities. Further details of the approach, collaborators, conference and activities, white papers and research outputs are available from agilersearchnetwork.org.

Publications

What do software startups need from UX work? (2023)
Zaina, Luciana; Choma, Joelma; Barroca, Leonor; Sharp, Helen; Machado, Leticia and de Souza, Cleidson
Empirical Software Engineering ((in press))

Tensions in Organisations Transforming to Agility (2022-12)
Strode, Diane; Sharp, Helen; Barroca, Leonor; Gregory, Peggy and Taylor, Katie
IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 69(6) (pp. 3572-3583)

An Onboarding Model for Integrating Newcomers into Agile Project Teams (2022-03)
Gregory, Peggy; Strode, Diane; Sharp, Helen and Barroca, Leonor
Information and Software Technology, 143, Article 106792

UX information in the daily work of an agile team: A distributed cognition analysis (2021-03)
Zaina, Luciana A. M.; Sharp, Helen and Barroca, Leonor
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 147, Article 102574

The challenges that challenge: Engaging with agile practitioners’ concerns (2016-09-30)
Gregory, Peggy; Barroca, Leonor; Sharp, Helen; Deshpande, Advait and Taylor, Katie
Information and Software Technology, 77 (pp. 92-104)

AM-OER: An Agile Method for the Development of Open Educational Resources (2016)
Arimoto, Mauricio M.; Barroca, Leonor and Barbosa, Ellen F.
Informatics in Education, 15(2) (pp. 205-233)

Bridging the gap between research and agile practice: an evolutionary model (2015-04-09)
Barroca, Leonor; Sharp, Helen; Salah, Dina; Taylor, Katie and Gregory, Peggy
International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Management, 9(2) (pp. 323-334)

Civic crowdfunding research: challenges, opportunities, and future agenda (2015-02)
Stiver, Alexandra; Barroca, Leonor; Minocha, Shailey; Richards, Mike and Roberts, Dave
New Media & Society, 17(2) (pp. 249-271)

Recursos Educacionais Abertos: Aspectos de desenvolvimento no cenário brasileiro [Open Educational Resources: aspects of development in the Brazilian context] (2014-12)
Arimoto, Maurício Massaru; Barroca, Leonor and Barbosa, Ellen Francine
RENOTE - Revista Novas tecnologias da Educação, 12(2)

Systematic evaluation of software product line architectures (2013)
Oliveira Junior, Edson A.; Gimenes, Itana M. S.; Maldonado, José C.; Masiero, Paulo C. and Barroca, Leonor
Journal of Universal Computer Science, 19(1) (pp. 25-52)

Requirements-driven design of service-oriented interactions (2010-07-15)
Mahfouz, Ayman; Barroca, Leonor; Laney, Robin and Nuseibeh, Bashar
IEEE Software, 27(6) (pp. 25-32)

Learning software engineering at a distance (2006)
Quinn, Brendan; Barroca, Leonor; Nuseibeh, Bashar; Fernandez-Ramil, Juan; Rapanotti, Lucia; Thomas, Pete and Wermelinger, Michel
IEEE Software, 23(6) (pp. 36-43)

A component-based product line architecture for workflow management systems (2004-12)
Lazilha, Fabrício Ricardo; Barroca, Leonor; de Oliveira Junior, Edson Alves and de Souza Gimenes, Itana Maria
CLEI Electronic Journal, 7(2 Pape)

Enterprise frameworks for workflow management systems (2002-07-10)
Gimenes, Itana M.S. and Barroca, Leonor
Software Practice and Experience, 32(8) (pp. 755-769)

Computing postgraduate programmes in the UK and Brazil: learning from experience in distance education (2012-12)
Barroca, Leonor and Gimenes, Itana M. S.
In: Azab, Nahed Amin ed. Cases on Web 2.0 in Developing Countries: Studies on Implementation, Application and Use (pp. 147-171)
ISBN : 9781466625150 | Publisher : IGI Global | Published : Hershey, PA

3D virtual worlds in higher education (2011-08)
Rapanotti, Lucia; Minocha, Shailey; Barroca, Leonor; Boulos, Maged N. Kamel and Morse, David R.
In: Olofsson, Anders D. and Lindberg, J. Ola eds. Informed Design of Educational Technologies in Higher Education: Enhanced Learning and Teaching (pp. 212-240)
ISBN : 978-1-61350-080-4 | Publisher : IGI Global

Conceitos Básicos (2005)
Barroca, Leonor; de Souza Gimenes, Itana Maria and Huzita, Elisa Hatsue Moriya
In: de Souza Gimenes, Itana Maria and Huzita, Elisa Hatsue Moriya eds. Desenvolvimento Baseado em Componentes Conceitos e Técnicas
ISBN : 8573934069 | Publisher : Editora Moderna

Desenvolvimento baseado em Componentes (2005)
Barroca, Leonor; de Souza Gimenes, Itana Maria and Huzita, Elisa Hatsue Moriya
In: de Souza Gimenes, Itana Maria and Huzita, Elisa Hatsue Moriya eds. Desenvolvimento Baseado em Componentes Conceitos e Técnicas
ISBN : 8573934069 | Publisher : Editora Moderna

Problem frames: a case for coordination (2004-02-24)
Barroca, Leonor; Fiadeiro, J.L.; Jackson, M.; Laney, Robin and Nuseibeh, B.
In: De Nicola, Rocco; Ferrari, Gianluigi and Meredith, Greg eds. Coordination models and languages: 6th International Conference, COORDINATION 2004 Pisa Italy, February 24-27, 2004: Proceedings. Lecture notes in computer science (2949/2004) (pp. 5-19)
ISBN : 354021044X | Publisher : Springer | Published : Heidleburg, Germany

A product line architecture for workflow management systems with component-based development (2003-10-29)
Gimenes, I.M.S.; Junior, E.A.O.; Lazilha, F.R. and Barroca, L.
In: IEEE International Conference on Information Reuse and Integration, 2003 (IRI 2003) (pp. 112-119)
ISBN : 780382420

Sustaining agility: organisational change, factors and theoretical lenses (2023-06)
Barroca, Leonor; Sharp, Helen; Advait, Deshpande; Peggy, Gregory and Stavros, Papadeas
In : XP 2023 – 24th International Conference on Agile Software Deve (13-16 Jun 2023, Amsterdam)

Towards Understanding How Software Startups Deal with UX from Customer and User Information (2022-10-29)
Choma, Joelma; Machado, Leticia; de Souza, Cleidson R. B.; Sharp, Helen; Barroca, Leonor and Zaina, Luciana
In : 13th International Conference, ICSOB 2022 (08-11 Nov 2022, Bolzano, Italy) (pp. 287-303)

Towards a Pattern Language for improving UX work in Software Startups (2022)
Choma, Joelma; Sharp, Helen; Barroca, Leonor; De Souza, Cleidson; Machado, Leticia and Zaina, Luciana
In : PLoP (Pattern Languages of Programs) Conference 2022 (17-24 Oct 2022, Online) ((In Press))

Stakeholder Perceptions of IT Business Value in a Public Sector IT Digitalisation Project (2020-06)
Gregory, Peggy; Strode, Diane; Barroca, Leonor; Sharp, Helen and Taylor, Katie
In : European Conference on Information Systems (15-17 Jun 2020, Marrakech)

Onboarding: How Newcomers Integrate into an Agile Project Team (2020)
Gregory, Peggy; Strode, Diane E.; AlQuaisi, Raid; Sharp, Helen and Barroca, Leonor
In : Proceedings of XP 2020 (8-12 Jun 2020, Online) (pp. 20-36)

Enterprise agility: A Balancing Act - a local government case study (2019)
Barroca, Leonor; Sharp, Helen; Dingsøyr, Torgeir; Gregory, Peggy; Taylor, Katie and AlQaisi, Raid
In : XP 2019: 20th International Conference (21-25 May 2019, Montreal, QC, Canada) (pp. 207-223)

Enterprise Agility: Why Is Transformation so Hard? (2018-05-17)
Karvonen, Teemu; Sharp, Helen and Barroca, Leonor
In : XP 2018 19th International Conference on Agile Software Development (21-25 May 2018, Porto, Portugal) (pp. 131-145)

Sustaining Agile Beyond Adoption (2018)
Barroca, Leonor; Gregory, Peggy; Kuusinen, Kati; Sharp, Helen and AlQaisi, Raid
In : 44th Euromicro Conference on Software Engineering and Advanced Applications (29-31 Aug 2018, Prague, Czech Republic) (pp. 22-25)

Knowledge Sharing in a Large Agile Organisation: a Survey Study (2017-05)
Kuusinen, K; Gregory, P; Sharp, Helen; Barroca, Leonor and Taylor, K
In : XP 2017: 18th International Conference on Agile Software Development (22-26 May 2017, Cologne)

Developing Open Educational Resources through Learning Design and Agile Practices (2016-10-27)
Arimoto, Mauricio; Barroca, Leonor and Barbosa, Ellen
In : V Brazilian Congress on Information Technology in Education (CBIE 2016) (24-27 Oct 2016, Uberlândia, Brasil)

Agile practices taught online at a distance (2016-10)
Barroca, Leonor and Kear, Karen
In : The Online, Open and Flexible Higher Education Conference (19-21 Oct 2016, Rome)

Strategies for doing Agile in a non-Agile Environment (2016-09)
Kuusinen, Kati; Gregory, Peggy; Sharp, Helen and Barroca, Leonor
In : ESEM 2016 (8-9 Sep 2016, Ciudad Spain)

Online conversations around digital artefacts: the studio approach to learning in STEM subjects (2016-05)
Thomas, Elaine; Barroca, Leonor; Donelan, Helen; Kear, Karen; Jefferis, Helen and Rosewell, Jon
In : Networked Learning Conference 2016 (9-11 May 2016, Lancaster) (pp. 172-180)

Remote Working and Collaboration in Agile Teams (2016)
Deshpande, Advait; Sharp, Helen; Barroca, Leonor and Gregory, Peggy
In : International Conference on Information Systems (11-14 Dec 2016, Dublin, Ireland)

Developing Open Educational Resources through Learning Design and Agile Practices (2016)
Arimoto, Mauricio; Barroca, Leonor and Barbosa, Ellen F.
In : Simpósio Brasileiro de Informática na Educação (SBIE) (24-27 Oct 2016, Uberlandia, Brazil)

Civic crowdfunding: how do offline communities engage online? (2015-07-13)
Stiver, Alexandra; Barroca, Leonor; Petre, Marian; Richards, Michael and Roberts, Dave
In : British HCI Conference (13-17 Jul 2015, Lincoln) (pp. 37-45)

Agile challenges in practice: a thematic analysis (2015-05)
Gregory, Peggy; Barroca, Leonor; Taylor, Katie; Salah, Dina and Sharp, Helen
In : 16th International Conference on Agile Software Development, XP 2015 (25-29 May 2015, Helsinki)

Teaching software systems thinking at The Open University (2015-05)
Wermelinger, Michel; Hall, Jon; Rapanotti, Lucia; Barroca, Leonor; Ramage, Magnus and Bandara, Arosha
In : Joint Software Engineering Education and Training Conference (18-22 May 2015, Florence, Italy) (pp. 307-310)

Towards a blended learning approach to teach a theoretical computer science module (2015-05)
Silva, Leila and Barroca, Leonor
In : 7th International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU 2015) (23-25 May 2015, Lisbon, Portugal) (pp. 319-324)

An agile learning design method for open educational resources (2015)
Arimoto, Maurício Massaru; Barroca, Leonor and Barbosa, Ellen Francine
In : Frontiers in Education 2015 (21-24 Oct 2015, El Paso, Texas) (pp. 1897-1905)

Digital technologies for doctoral dialogues at a distance (2014-10-25)
Petre, Marian; Minocha, Shailey and Barroca, Leonor
In : 2014 IEEE Frontiers in Education: Opening doors to Innovation and Internationalization in Engineering Education Conference (22-25 Oct 2014, Madrid, Spain) (pp. 2432-2439)

Learning design for software engineering courses (2014-04)
Gimenes, Itana; Barroca, Leonor; Barbosa, Ellen and Júnior, Edson A Oliveira
In : International Conference on Computer Supported Education, CSEDU 2014 (1-3 Apr 2014, Barcelona) (pp. 241-249)

Towards the development of open educational resources: challenges and issues (2012-11)
Barbosa, Ellen Francine; Gimenes, Itana M. S. and Barroca, Leonor
In : II International Symposium on OER: Issues for globalization and localization (26-30 Nov 2012, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Some good ideas for student projects from the disciplinary commons (2011-08)
Lancaster, Thomas; Jenkins, Tony; Barroca, Leonor; Calvert, Maurice; Devlin, Siobhan; Foley, Richard; Horton, Julie; Moore, John and Sturdy, Paula
In : 12th Annual Conference of the Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Information and Computer Sciences (23-25 Aug 2011, University of Ulster, Belfast Campus)

Developing research degrees online (2010-11)
Barroca, Leonor; Rapanotti, Lucia; Petre, Marian; Vargas-Vera, Maria and Reeves, Ahmad
In : International Conference on Education, Research and Innovation (15-17 Nov 2010, Madrid, Spain)

deep|think: A Second Life environment for part-time research students at a distance (2010-07)
Rapanotti, Lucia; Barroca, Leonor; Vargas-Vera, Maria and Reeves, Ahmad
In : ICALT 2010: The 10th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning, Technologies (1-5 Jul 2010, Santander, Cantabria, Spain)

From organizational requirements to service choreography (2009)
Mahfouz, Ayman; Barroca, Leonor; Laney, Robin and Nuseibeh, Bashar
In : 2009 IEEE Congress on Services (SERVICES 2009) (6-10 Jul 2009, Los Angeles, CA, USA)

Customizing choreography: Deriving conversations from organizational dependencies (2008-09)
Mahfouz, Ayman; Barroca, Leonor; Laney, Robin and Nuseibeh, Bashar
In : 12th IEEE International Enterprise Distributed Object Computing Conference (EDOC 2008) (15-19 Sep 2008, München, Germany)

Patterns for service-oriented information exchange requirements (2006)
Mahfouz, Ayman; Barroca, Leonor; Laney, Robin and Nuseibeh, Bashar
In : PLoP Pattern Languages of Programs 2006 (21-23 Oct 2006, Portland, Oregon)

A product line for workflow management systems (2004-10)
de Souza Gimenes, Itana Maria; de Oliveira Junior, Edson Alves; Lazilha, Fabrício Ricardo; Nishimura, Ruy Tsutomu and Barroca, Leonor
In : Experimental Software Engineering Latin American Workshop (ESELAW) (18-22 Oct 2004, Brasilia, Brazil)

Composing requirements using problem frames (2004-09)
Laney, Robin; Barroca, Leonor; Jackson, Michael and Nuseibeh, Bashar
In : 12th International Requirements Engineering Conference (6-10 Sep 2004, Kyoto, Japan) (pp. 122-131)

Coordination Contracts as Connectors in Component-Based Development (2002)
Barroca, Leonor and Fiadeiro, José Luiz
In : 6th Bienneal World Conference on Integrated Design & Process Technology (23-28 Jun 2002, Pasadena, USA)

Using OpenStudio in STEM learning - final report to eSTEeM, the OU centre for STEM pedagogy (2018-12-20)
Thomas, Elaine; Barroca, Leonor; Donelan, Helen; Kear, Karen; Jefferis, Helen and Rosewell, Jonathan
eSTEeM - The OU centre for STEM pedagogy