Table 6 Types of contribution

Architecture

Research that provides a theoretical view of how various components in a solution will sit together and interact.

Framework

Research that describes the encapsulation of multiple software libraries that solve a particular problem, while also being extensible.

Theory

Research that develops high-level guidelines and roadmaps for a particular problem.

Methodology

Research that presents low-level approaches to solving a particular problem.

Model

Research that produces mathematical models for solving particular problems.

Platform

Research that provides a system with hardware and software components, which enables applications to execute.

Process

Research that presents low-level processes to solving a particular problem.

Tool

Research that develops well-defined software utilities that address a subset of a bigger problem.