Studying the technology stack and processes of software companies located in Iceland

Abstract

This paper describes the research results regarding the technology stack and software processes ofIcelandic companies in 2020. The participants of the research are working professionals in thesoftware industry in Iceland. The research was conducted in the fall of 2020.The number of software companies working in Iceland is growing every year. Today, more than 800 software companies are working in Iceland. The variety among IT companies is substantial, with different products targeting different markets being developed using large numbers of different software tools and programming languages, following different processes. For students and startups, this variety can be confusing since there is no clear direction for best using their resources to develop a professional portfolio or a product that best fits the market. For researchers, projects might not have the desired impact due to similar reasons.This paper describes the research results regarding the technology stack and software processes of Icelandic companies in 2020. The participants of the research are working professionals in the software industry in Iceland. The research was conducted in the fall of 2020.The purpose was to get a clear overview of what progress and technology tools software companies inIceland use to create software. The results draw an overview of the most popular tech stack in Icelandand how the software companies develop software. This paper discusses how the survey came about, how it was conducted, and the main results.An online survey was sent out to carefully chosen professionals working in the software industry inIceland. The respondents were asked to answer questions regarding what sector they were working in, what processes and tools they use to create software in their working environment. Furthermore, the study covered basic questions on how the company they work for operates.The survey was sent out to 100 companies. Out of them, we received 50 answers. This paper’s main findings are that there are many similarities in how software companies operate in Iceland. It seems like languages like Javascript, .NET, and Python are the most popular in Iceland, and more than 50% of respondents reported that they use relational databases in their development. The main shortcomings are that most responses come from smaller companies, and therefore it is more likely that they have developed most of the newest trends in software development. Scrum is the most popular software process used in Iceland, used by 33,6% of participants. The results also show thatthe second most popular process was “their own process.” This shows that companies are flexible andadaptable when it comes to choosing processes.