Blockchain-oriented Software Engineering: Challenges and New Directions

TL;DR

This paper discusses the rapid growth of blockchain software development, identifies key challenges, and proposes new research directions to improve tools, testing, collaboration, and smart contract development in this emerging field.

Contribution

It introduces new directions for blockchain-oriented software engineering based on analysis of repositories, market data, and current challenges, emphasizing testing, collaboration, and smart contracts.

Findings

Blockchain development is rapidly expanding, requiring specialized tools.

Effective testing and collaboration are crucial for blockchain projects.

Smart contract development faces unique challenges that need tailored solutions.

Abstract

The Blockchain technology is reshaping finance, economy, money to the extent that its disruptive power is compared to that of the Internet and the Web in their early days. As a result, all the software development revolving around the Blockchain technology is growing at a staggering rate. In this paper, we acknowledge the need for software engineers to devise specialized tools and techniques for blockchain-oriented software development. From current challenges concerning the definition of new professional roles, demanding testing activities and novel tools for software architecture, we take a step forward by proposing new directions on the basis of a curate corpus of blockchain-oriented software repositories, detected by exploiting the information enclosed in the 2016 Moody's Blockchain Report and teh market capitalization of cryptocurrencies. Ensuring effective testing activities, enhancing collaboration in large teams, and facilitating the development of smart contracts all appear as key factors in the future of blockchain-oriented software development.