Guenther Ruhe

Dr. Ruhe is a software engineer working in the field of decision support, where he leads a research team whose primary aim is to establish and demonstrate scientific excellence in Software Engineering Decision Support (SEDS). His research and innovation practice focuses on development, testing, evaluation, and implementation of software systems in a broad range of domains such as health, energy, finance, and logistics. His research outcomes are directed towards applicability using empirical evidence-based approaches to evaluate software products and services.

Dr. Ruhe’s academic career showcases how collaborations between academia and industry can strengthen outcomes to benefit society. Prior to joining the University of Calgary in 2001, he was instrumental in the development and evolution of the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering (Fraunhofer IESE). As the institute’s deputy director, he established the current model for engagement between industry and the software engineering field by creating collaborative projects and securing funding opportunities.

His pioneering paper on software release planning has defined a new agenda within the software engineering field and resulted in a Canadian and US patent being issued to him for this innovative advancement. Translating pioneering research into impact, Dr. Ruhe founded the University of Calgary start-up Expert Decision Inc. (EDI). This subscription-based service offers organizations access to platform tools to optimize product development and portfolio management. Efforts to support the 2016 Fort McMurray Wildfire resulted in developing MAPFEAT technology to extract essential information from textual documents (social media) and map them to app functionality. Since its development, over twenty companies have initiated discussions to collaborate with Dr. Ruhe and his team on this project, including AppArmor, who specializes in developing custom mobile safety apps and emergency notification systems in North America and Australia.

Since arriving in Canada, Dr. Ruhe has received over three million dollars (CND) in research funding from industry, and provincial and federal governments; funding mostly used to develop and commercialize innovative software engineering technologies like product release management, requirements elicitation from social media, and the ROI of Machine Learning classification.

According to Dr. Ruhe, entrepreneurial specific education is critical for start-ups coming from an academic environment. He will use his Innovation Fellowship to develop an online Mentoring Service and Tool Support program for software start-ups to guide them from ideation through to the development of an actual usable product or service. Through this program, students will have access to resources from Dr. Ruhe’s professional affiliations like the International Software Product Management Association (ISPMA). As an important touch point for start-ups, Dr. Ruhe will expand ISPMA-based education and training by offering customized syllabi for start-ups focused on best practices for product management. Furthermore, entrepreneurs will have access to the VeryBestChoice decision tool allowing them to focus on product innovation, return-on-investment (ROI), and the implementation of new features to define their unique selling proposition (USP).

Delivering a product or service to match the specific needs of various clients is essential to success. Drawing on his own experience, Dr. Ruhe will create and facilitate a two-day workshop focused on training and tool support to develop ‘the right product’ versus developing the product ‘the right way’. Offered annually through the Hunter Hub, this workshop aims to reduce the risk and uncertainty faced by entrepreneurs by validating their innovation ideas through continuous experimentation (CE) while incorporating changes and updates to products or services based on metrics and consumer feedback.