Web Engineering: An Assessment of Empirical Research

Web engineering is the process used to create high-quality Web-based systems and applications that deliver a complex array of content and functionality to a broad population of end-users. As Web Engineering continues to grow in popularity with practitioners and academics alike, so far, there hasn’t been any assessment of its accumulated body of knowledge in terms of academic research. Because Web engineering was established as a new discipline some five years ago, it is perhaps time to take stock of the efforts made in this field. Using the Web Engineering Process Model developed by Pressman [2000], this paper organizes and map progress made so far. The results suggest a significant need for theory-based research in Web Engineering. The paper discusses some of the managerial and research implications of the findings.