Conducting a long-term case study in a software firm: An experience report

Academia and industry have been collaborating for over a century in different formats, including research projects´ funds, commercialization of academic knowledge, academic consultancy in industrial projects, etc. Yet, academic researchers face various difficulties and challenges when performing research in industry. In this paper we describe several challenges we faced during a long-term case study research we performed in collaboration with a global IT firm. We present each challenge including its illustration in the context of our case study, describe the actions taken in the attempt to meet it, and discuss lessons learned.