Maksim Nikitashin Economics of Software Engineering in Slovenia DOI https://doi.org/10.55707/eb.v12i1.148 Original scientific article UDC 004.41:33(497.4) KEYWORDS: digitalization, digital piracy, econo- mics, software engineering, open-source softwa- re, public administration, Slovenia, sustainability ABSTRACT – Information technologies and their software engineering branch are an important part of the modern economy and its digitalization. At the same time, they are influenced also by the economy, and have formed their own economic fields. However, this field remains poorly studied in some apects. Un- derstanding them can improve the field’ s operation. The research presented is of a sequential qualitative nature. The first part is a scoping literature review of the global software engineering economics. This is followed by a narrative literature review of the iden- tified topics in the Slovenian environment. The results have shown similarities and deviations in the nati- onal economy. Some of the latter, like public sector -related specifics, need additional consideration, and some of them, like digital piracy- and sustainability -related, identify challenges for the country’ s softwa- re engineering sector. Research results can be used by professionals to improve their knowledge about the economics of the business field both globally and locally. Also, they can be used for the promotion and improvement of the studied concepts in Slovenia and as a good starting point for continuing research works on the topics analyzed. Izvirni znanstveni članek UDK 004.41:33(497.4) KLJUČNE BESEDE: digitalizacija, digitalno pi- ratstvo, ekonomija, javna uprava, programsko inže- nirstvo, odprtokodna programska oprema, Slovenija, trajnost POVZETEK ‒ Informacijske tehnologije in njihova veja programski inženiring so pomemben del sodob- nega gospodarstva in njegove digitalizacije. Hkrati pa so pod vplivom ekonomike in so oblikovali svo- ja gospodarska področja. Vendar so ta področja na nekaterih podpodročjih še vedno slabo raziskana. Njihovo razumevanje lahko izboljša delovanje pod- ročja. Predstavljena raziskava je zaporedne kvalita- tivne narave. Prvi del je pregled literature o global- ni ekonomiji programskega inženiringa. Nato sledi pripovedni literarni pregled identificiranih tem v slovenskem okolju. Rezultati so pokazali podobnosti in odstopanja v nacionalnem gospodarstvu. Nekatere od slednjih, kot so posebnosti, povezane z javnim sek- torjem, je treba dodatno upoštevati, nekatere od njih, kot sta digitalno piratstvo in trajnost, pa predstavlja- jo izzive za sektor programskega inženiringa v drža- vi. Rezultate raziskave lahko strokovnjaki uporabijo za izboljšanje svojega znanja o ekonomiji poslovnega področja na svetovni in lokalni ravni. Prav tako se lahko uporabijo za promocijo in izboljšanje prouče- vanih konceptov v Sloveniji in kot dobro izhodišče za nadaljevanje raziskovalnega dela o analiziranih temah. 1 Introduction Information technologies (IT) have become omnipresent in all spheres of human life and activities in the recent past. This applies to economics as well. The influence of IT and digitalization there is hard to overestimate. At the same time, information technologies have become a huge economic sector as well. It has its own basic prin- ciples, model, techniques utilized, and other specifics (Boehm, 1984; Madauss, 2024; Sneed, 1991). Economics of Software Engineering in Slovenia Prejeto/Received: 3. 2. 2025 Sprejeto/Accepted: 28. 3. 2025 Besedilo/Text © 2025 Avtor(ji)/The Author(s) To delo je objavljeno pod licenco CC BY Priznanje avtorstva 4.0 Mednarodna. / This work is published under a CC BY Attribution 4.0 International license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 19 Maksim Nikitashin: Economics of Software Engineering in Slovenia Software engineering is a branch of IT that deals with the development of com- puter software. It is extremely important because without software computers cannot operate by themselves and, in the end, become useless. The mentioned branch focuses on the process of development at all stages, from planning and design to deployment and maintenance. It has been developing rapidly in the past few decades and is now extremely huge with its own economic and management principles (Felderer et.al. 2020). Despite its importance, active study and development of software engineering still remain risky and are, in some cases, a poorly studied economic and business field. Recent research works have shown that 20-30 percent of all software projects are nowadays still failing, and 80-90 percent of employees from the field believe that the projects they are working on will not be successful or, even worse, that they are “doomed” (Money et.al., 2021). For this reason, it is very important to continue the research in the field that will enhance the understanding of the field’s economics and improve its business. In Slovenia, this field is poorly studied. However, official statistics show that it is quite popular and the number of companies and people employed in the IT and software engineering sectors has grown, while the number of closed companies has decreased by 7, 9, and 21 percent accordingly in the years 2020-2022 (Enterprise Births and Enterprise Deaths by ACTIVITY , YEAR, MEASURES and SIZE OF EN- TERPRISE-PxWeb, n.d.; High-growth Enterprises by ACTIVITY , YEAR and INDI- CATOR-PxWeb, n.d.). This is more or less expected because of the ongoing immuta- ble digitalization of all economic and business areas (Oršič, 2023; Zabukovšek, 2016; Zabukovšek, 2024). Despite IT, in general, and software engineering, in particular, being treated as a very internationalized and globalized area, national specifics play an important role. Especially when it comes to the economic aspects, because the area is influenced by the national environment and specifics as well as all others. Also, the production of the companies dealing with software development is still distributed in the nationalized business markets. For this reason, it is important to study the economics of software engineering in the scope of national environments, like the Slovenian one. The economics of software engineering in Slovenia and its study are very impor- tant since digitalization has been immutably ongoing in all sectors of national econo- mics for a relatively long period of time. For example, the number of organizations utilizing digital technologies in any form has grown by 4 percent in the period of 2010- 2019 (The Usage of ICT Hardware and Computer Networks in Enterprises With 10 or More Persons Employed (NACE Rev. 2) by YEAR, ICT USAGE IN ENTERPRISES and ACTIVITY-PxWeb, n.d.), those of them using cloud services by 11 percent in the years 2021-2023 (Number of Enterprises by YEAR, PURCHASE OF CLOUD COM- PUTING SERVICE and ENTERPRISE SIZE CLASS-PxWeb, n.d.) and finally, those of them implementing e-business and related software by 15 percents in the period of 2021-2024 (Number of Enterprises by YEAR, ELECTRONIC EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION IN THE ENTERPRISE and ENTERPRISE SIZE CLASS-PxWeb, 20 Revija za ekonomske in poslovne vede (2, 2024) n.d.). There are several reasons for such a trend, mainly related to the efficiency of the business operation and improved decision-making. As was mentioned, software plays a critical role in the process of digitalization of the economy, driving innovations and enhancing products and services (Felderer et.al. 2020). However, the related business area still stays poorly studied and risky, particularly on the national level. This makes its study and understanding critical for the development and the future of the national economy. The work presented in continuation is intended for the systematization of the exi- sting knowledge, concepts, and models in the area of economics of software engine- ering and their extension for Slovenia as well as for the countries with similar local environments and specifics, like for instance huge public sector of the economy. 2 Methodology The entire research was designed as two sequential literature researches. First, the scoping literature review was planned to be conducted because the topic of the study is still relatively new and poorly studied. The goal was to analyze the field and the existing trends in the global environment. Then, the second part should have followed: the narrative literature research. This part should have been based on the results of the scoping literature review and study of the topics, identified in the Slovenian envi- ronment. 2.1 Scoping literature review As a methodology for the research of the theory, the scoping literature review was selected, as was mentioned since the topic of the study is still relatively new and poorly studied. This methodology is known, because it helps ensure a complete and comprehensi- ve overview of some relatively new or poorly studied themes. Its goal is to find, map, analyze, and summarize as many sources on the topic of study as possible with the purpose of making sure no existing knowledge is missed, as well as to identify the most important concepts and gaps. The key steps here are as follows: 1. Definition of the research question 2. Definition of the query for search 3. Search for sources 4. Selection of the relevant sources 5. Data extraction and organization 6. Analysis and summarization of data 7. Synthesis and presentation of the results (Hart, 1998; Ma, 2022) The research questions (RQs) defined by the author were as follows: □ RQ1. What is software engineering economics? □ RQ2. What are the world specifics of the software engineering sector economics? 21 Maksim Nikitashin: Economics of Software Engineering in Slovenia □ RQ3. What are the specifics of the software engineering economic sector in Slo- venia? □ RQ4. What are the key similarities and differences between Slovenian and world specifics? □ RQ5. What are world trends in the software engineering economic sector? □ RQ6. What are the trends of the software engineering economic sector in Slove- nia? □ RQ7. What are the key similarities and differences between Slovenian and world trends? Considering these questions and the popularity of agile methodologies in the sof- tware engineering sphere (Nikitashin et. al., 2024), the keywords selected for the qu- ery were as follows: □ Agile methodologies □ Economics □ Management □ Software development □ Software engineering The filtering criteria were defined as shown in Table 1 Table 1 Criteria for the scoping literature review Criteria Description Objectives Actuality The work is not older than 20 years. Ensure that only valid knowledge was in- cluded in the analysis. Reliability The work was peer-reviewed, according to the data for the website of the resource. Ensure the results of the analyzed work are reliable and officially confirmed. Uniqueness The work does not repeat and reference one of the works already analysed. Ensure the results of the analysis do not contain unnecessary repetitions and are balanced. Validity The work studies one of the topics speci- fied by one of the research questions or its relationship with agile methodologies. Ensure the work is relevant to the analysis. For the search, the Scopus database was selected as one of the biggest and most recognized interdisciplinary databases. Also, some sub-sources of the research items found, which the latter were referring to, were included in the analysis. 2.2 Narrative literature review The narrative literature review methodology is intended to summarize the existing knowledge on the selected topic and critically analyze the findings. Its aim is to give a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge on the topic of interest. The steps to successfully conduct the review are the following: 1. Definition of the scope (identification of the key themes, questions, and boundari- es of the topic of study) 2. Search for literature (definition of the keywords, search for the sources in databa- 22 Revija za ekonomske in poslovne vede (2, 2024) ses and reference lists to find relevant studies) 3. Evaluation of the sources (evaluation with a focus on quality, relevance, and cre- dibility) 4. Synthesis of the information (identification of common themes, patterns, and con- tradictions in the literature) 5. Organization and writing of the review (organization of the results on a thematic, chronological, or methodological basis) (Hart, 1998) Based on the results of the scoping literature review, the topics and keywords were defined as follows: □ Digital piracy □ Digitalization □ Economics □ Open-source software □ Public administration □ Software engineering □ Sustainability The search was conducted in the COBISS database as the most comprehensive source of the scientific works on the selected topic in the Slovenian national envi- ronment. 3 Results After conducting both parts of the research, the following results were obtained and organized into two meaningful parts. 3.1 The world Both software engineering and economics influence each other. Digital transformation and information technologies (IT) in general play an important role in the field of economy. They can help to improve such aspects as: □ General efficiency by streamlining economic processes and enhancing data analysis and management with higher efficiency and accuracy; □ Decision-making with the help of comprehensive data analysis; □ Resource management with optimization of the allocation and reducing costs. (Rusakova & Bystrov, 2024) Software engineering as a branch of information technologies has a key role in di- gital transformation in all economic sectors. It is a key innovation driver enhancing all aspects, including products, systems, and services. Software is already integrated and will continue its integration in the listed aspects as well as in everyday lives of people. For this reason, it will require the involvement of economic and business specialists in development (Felderer et.al. 2020). 23 Maksim Nikitashin: Economics of Software Engineering in Slovenia Project management software can serve as a more particular example. While the process itself is possible even without the IT support, in this case, it is much less effective. At the same time, project management software is just a tool, and it cannot do everything by itself. Here, similarly to any IT-supported economic and managerial sphere, it is important to consider an adequate level of integration, as well as good organizational culture and management, and also technological and educational pre- paredness for the implementation of the technology (Madauss, 2024). As was mentioned, software solutions can enhance almost all economic spheres in different aspects. As an example, we can use farming. Implementation of special- ly developed software, enhanced with the most actual features, like artificial intelli- gence (AI), can help in the optimization of crop yields and consequently increment of profitability of small-size farms (Kulibaba & Barinov, 2024). Another example is shipbuilding. Possible benefits here are improved planning, design, construction, and management of ships; in particular, reduced risks related to errors in planning and design, more efficient collaboration among the project participants, and enhanced ma- intenance and management of ships (Yanchenko, 2024). At the same time, as was mentioned, economics and management play an impor- tant role in software engineering. While planning and designing a software project, it is critical to consider such economic aspects as long-term viability and sustainability, well-analyzed cost-effecti- veness, and value creation with improvements in performance, maintainability, and scalability (Grundy, 2014). Historically, at the very beginning of the software engineering era, it was a stan- dard that the entire process of development was conducted by the engineers them- selves. This approach very often causes cost overruns and user-unfriendly systems because of a weak understanding of the relationship between requirements and costs. Here, it is important to integrate requirements, architecture, and development process, as well as utilize cost and schedule estimates for effective management of the projects, to avoid the creation of mission-disruptive systems. Also, it is important to consider fast changes in the area and adequately adopt techniques, models, and tools for them (Boehm & Sullivan, 2000). The earliest and the most comprehensive sources about the topic of software engi- neering economics were authored by Boehm (1984) and Sneed (1991). Despite their age, they are still very popular in the sphere and are addressed in a large number of very recent sources. For this reason, they were included in the analysis, even though they do not meet all the filtering criteria. The economic analysis techniques and models play an important role in software engineering and management. Examples are the following: □ Cost-benefit analysis (determination of the overall value and feasibility of the pro- ject) □ Return on Investment (ROI) analysis (allocation of resources to maximize finan- cial return) 24 Revija za ekonomske in poslovne vede (2, 2024) □ Risks analysis (consideration of potential financial impacts in planning of the pro- ject) □ Cost estimation analysis (utilization of COCOMO (Constructive Cost Model) for estimation of the costs of the project) □ Trade-off analysis (comparison of different design and implementation options considering their economic implications, to balance performance, costs, and other important factors) (Boehm, 1984; Sneed, 1991) Considering the recommendations for the utilization of cost-effectiveness princi- ples can be pointed to the possibility of the use of Markov models (Hamori & Bhar, 2004). The described techniques are important, because the most critical roles in the pro- jects are given to accurate cost estimation as well as effective resource allocation, due to their limitedness. Decision-making in such projects must always consider both technical and economic points of view, keeping an adequate balance between them. The stated applies both for software development and re-engineering projects (Boe- hm, 1984; Sneed, 1991). In the recent past, economic models’ utilization in software engineering has been studied in different contexts, for example, in terms of implementation of software product line engineering (SPLE). The core idea of SPLE is the development of a fa- mily of systems with reusable core assets. Realization of this concept requires a huge initial investment. For this reason, the analysis of the cost-benefit aspects plays an important role. Besides the already described techniques and models, the following are proposed: □ Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) (understanding of the long-term financial effect and sustainability of SPLE) □ Net Present Value (NPV) (comparison of SPLE with other opportunities for inve- stment in terms of economic viability) □ Economic Value Added (EV A) (determination of whether SPLE will generate su- fficient returns of value to justify the investments) (Thurimella & Padmaja, 2014) Some additional important software development aspects have been studied from an economic perspective and should be considered while managing projects: □ Software quality (usability, ease of learning, usage frequency) □ Economic incentives (the biggest and the most successful software companies are incentivized to create high-quality, well-balanced, and user-friendly software) (Zhu & He, 2016) Software quality is closely related to software testing. In this area, a high level of co- operation between technical and business specialists is recommended. This may help to achieve better results by balancing testing effectiveness (number of errors uncove- red) with economic aspects like cost and time consumption (amount of resources and time spent) (Shi, 2010). Additionally, an important aspect influencing software quality is technical debt arising during the development process. They can be described as events of change 25 Maksim Nikitashin: Economics of Software Engineering in Slovenia of trade-off and requirement or conflicts of interest occasionally happening during the development process, for instance rushing a system to the market at the expense of its quality. Here, a proper analysis with such techniques as real options, cost-benefit, and value-based analysis is recommended. Also, it is critical to establish a common voca- bulary for the business and technical specialists (Ampatzoglou et al., 2015). While developing and planning software solutions, it is important to consider some additional important business aspects: □ User involvement (active participation of users in the development and adoption processes including their training engagement and organized feedback provision) □ Self-efficacy (confidence of the users in their ability to use the new software effectively) □ Perception of need (positive perception of the necessity for software solution) □ Public recognition (recognition and support from the stakeholders and broader community) (Begicheva et al., 2024) In the recent past, some authors have proposed a deeper development of the theory of the software engineering economics; for example, with the creation of taxonomy and classification. It may help to improve such aspects as cost-benefit analysis, hel- ping to make more informed decisions and resource allocation and management, lea- ding to a much more economically efficient process of software development (Usman et al., 2017). Besides the factors mentioned, economy and its conditions are important in sof- tware engineering as in any sector as well. Nevertheless, the IT sector in general is obviously treated as global and less dependent on some local disturbances; bad con- ditions, like uncertainties and layoffs, can significantly influence the software develo - pment market. Like anywhere else, companies there must always monitor the situation and be ready to adapt themselves, their strategies, behaviour, models, and manage- ment (Żatuchin, 2024). The last one is especially important, because the right selecti- on of the development model and methodology can significantly influence different factors, from productivity to satisfaction of the employees in the sector (Nikitashin et al., 2024). In recent years, besides the previously described, there have been two of the most popular topics in the relationship between software engineering and economics. The first is software piracy and its economic impact. As may be expected, it was determined that piracy hurts economic growth by reducing incentives for development companies to create new products, which slows down technological progress and the growth of productivity. At the same time, it was pointed out that this relationship is very complex and controversial. Also, high levels of piracy can serve as an indicator of poor economic and legal institutional quality in the country (Fernandez et al., 2018). The second topic is open-source software (OSS), which can be treated as a soluti- on to the piracy problem. OSS is a unique economic phenomenon. It is software developed by volunteer programmers collaborating through informal communities. These systems are distri- 26 Revija za ekonomske in poslovne vede (2, 2024) buted freely and despite being developed by volunteers, they often achieve a high level of complexity and quality. Thus, OSS can be a competitor to the traditional paid software and the companies developing it. Such organizations must adapt their strate- gies to this competition. At the same time, OSS engineering changes exist and create a new economic and business model. It has a minimal cost of development due to volunteer contribution. Developers of such systems invent absolutely new monetization strategies, like paid support services, development of custom versions, licensing, and hosting services. Last but not least, OSS accelerates innovations in the field thanks to its openness, and consequently, rapid improvements and implementation of new, sometimes unique fea- tures. Due to its high competitiveness, some traditional companies are now switching their models to OSS-based ones (Bitzer & Schröder, 2006). Such software may help in the economic development of the field by reducing costs and increasing innovation, because it allows more developers to contribute and improve the systems and because it provides access to advanced technologies for a broader audience (Kamau & Namuye, 2012; Kshetri, 2025). At the same time, there are some considerations about the sustainability of OSS present (Kshetri, 2025). Ad- ditionally, such reasons as loyalty to more popular and widely recognized solutions, as well as lack of awareness, training, and public support, are mentioned as stoppers of development and utilization of OSS (Kamau & Namuye, 2012). Public and governmental institutions' support may be a solution for the described issues. On the one hand, OSS can contribute to the growth of the economy of a country by accelerating digitalization, increasing market competitiveness, creating innovation and jobs, and the development of new business models. On the other hand, public support and funding can reduce the financial burden related to the development and provide long-term stability for OSS projects. At the same time as with any software project, it is important to consider all economic aspects and conduct all the standards previously described before actual investments. This may be very complex and pro- blematic, and here, specially developed toolkits should be utilized, considering poten- tial economic, social, and technical impacts (Osborne et al., 2024). An additional factor that must be considered in modern software engineering eco- nomics is sustainability. It is important because of the long-term economic and finan- cial benefits for companies, like reduced operational costs, and because nowadays it may significantly influence public reputation which is especially important in the case of OSS projects. The term sustainability can be used in different meanings such as: □ Environmental sustainability (energy efficiency, utilization of green data centers, prioritization of renewable energy sources) □ Social sustainability (inclusive and diverse working environment, fair labour pra- ctices, accessibility of products to all users) □ Economic sustainability (cost-effective resource management, sustainable busi- ness models, economic benefits of adopting sustainable practices) Integration of all listed aspects is critically important for establishing sustainable de- velopment process and products (Schott & Ovtcharova, 2024). 27 Maksim Nikitashin: Economics of Software Engineering in Slovenia Two very important steps helping on the way to achieve sustainable software en- gineering in a company are the implementation of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and ISO quality models. The first one means a complex analysis of the entire development process in all key steps. It can be used to evaluate the impact of software on the environment, in- cluding both its development and operation, for instance, through monitoring energy consumption, usage of resources, and emissions. This may help to identify specific areas where impacts on the environment can be reduced; for example, by optimizing code for better energy efficiency, sustainable materials selection, or process improve- ments to minimize waste. ISO quality models in turn can help through the following: □ Providing standardized guidelines helps to integrate sustainable practices into sof- tware development processes and ensure that sustainability practices are consis- tently applied across different projects and organizations. □ Achieving and balancing high-quality and sustainable outcomes by emphasizing the importance of paying equal attention to performance, reliability, and envi- ronmental responsibility. □ Promoting a culture of continuous improvement and motivating organizations to regularly evaluate and enhance their sustainability practices, helping them to iden- tify new opportunities to reduce the impact on the environment and improve the efficiency of utilization of resources. □ Ensuring that sustainable practices are recognized worldwide and can be imple- mented in different regions and industries. Such universal applicability makes it easier for organizations to adopt and implement sustainability practices (Qiang et al., 2024). The social sustainability aspect plays an extremely important role in modern sof- tware development as well. It involves creating technology that helps to improve pe- ople’s lives and at the same time mitigates social risks and tends to minimize negative impacts on society and human beings, as well as on economy and the environment. It helps to reduce negative social impacts, like social isolation, cybercrime, and surve- illance capitalism. One of the key recommendations for developers and organizations is to deprioritize antisocial features and promote positive social interactions and inclu- sivity in their products (Ayoola et al., 2024). 3.2 Slovenia Digital transformation of the different economic sectors is ongoing both in Slo- venia and the world now. For example, in the automobile industry, the integration of enterprise resource planning (ERP) and manufacturing execution (MES) systems for the automation of processes is recommended by some authors. The reasons are that it brings such benefits as improved efficiency of production, decision-making as well as error reduction, and a more productive working environment (Zabukovšek, 2016). Another example is logistics, where digitalization helps to achieve better sustainabili- ty and consequently economic results (Oršič, 2023). 28 Revija za ekonomske in poslovne vede (2, 2024) Some other research works conducted in Slovenian companies have shown the importance of digitalization and a strategic approach to conducting it. This strate- gy must be well-developed and aligned with the business one. Otherwise, even the most successful organizations may fail to adopt the best and the most successful bu- siness strategies if there are misalignments with the IT strategy (Zabukovšek, 2024). Digitalization brings several benefits, like improved productivity, less workload for employees, time savings, and reduced costs. At the same time, it requires good adop- tion of employees and management of the organization. Considering the specifics of the market with a large number of small- and me- dium-sized enterprises, certain frameworks for informatics management in such or- ganizations have been studied and developed (Levstek, 2022). Furthermore, studies include some specific digitalization topics, like optimization of business processes with artificial intelligence (AI) in Slovenian banks, which led to operating improve- ments (Smirnov, 2024). Additionally, the utilization of AI can have a positive impact on the management of projects in the software development area as well; for instance, by reducing time consumption and consequently decreasing costs of development and improving satisfaction of customers (Nikitashin, 2025). Digitalization in Slovenia is taking place on different management levels. One of them, important in terms of this analysis and software engineering in general, is human resource management. Its digitalization in the country brings both opportuni- ties and threats, and sometimes faces local problems as well. However, it remains an important factor in the success of any organization with improved information flow, innovation, creativity, and motivation of employees (Kiselak, 2022). At the same time, some classical, hierarchical management approaches are iden- tified as inefficient in the modern Slovenian organizations in general. For this rea - son, the utilization of some principally new, agile-like approaches, like self-organized working groups, has been proposed. Utilization of this approach helps to significantly increase developmental power, innovation, and to a lesser degree, efficiency inside an organization (Kopina, 2018). Digital piracy is a significant issue present both in Slovenia and all developing countries. The reasons for the high rate of piracy are the high costs of legal content, unavailability of some services, and easy access to pirated content without strict con- trol over its distribution. This led to economic losses for the creators and legal distri- butors of services and content. The situation has been changing for the better with the decrease in piracy rate in the recent past. However, there is still a need for changes to combat the problem; for example, increase in availability of the legal distribution sources or much stricter copyright law and control over its compliance (Žvar, 2023). As anywhere else, availability of legal sources can be achieved with OSS promo- tion. It has already found utilization in some professional spheres in Slovenia, such as civil engineering. Research has identified that there are some solutions that already exist, and they have a good potential for future development. Implementation of such solutions may bring some economic benefits, like cost savings, especially for small businesses, which are present in big numbers on the national market (Prša, 2015). 29 Maksim Nikitashin: Economics of Software Engineering in Slovenia Besides industry-specific applications, OSS can be utilized for purposes much more common across different organizations; for instance, for process engineering. OSS tools may bring such benefits as: □ Cost-effectiveness (tt eliminates costs of licensing, making it accessible for low -budget organizations like small businesses and educational institutions) □ Flexibility (tt allows extensive customizations and adaptations to specific pro- blems of the organization, providing a universal tool for different applications) □ Support (tt has a community of developers and users, contributing to its regular, non-stop improvement and providing support) □ Integration (tt can be integrated with other software tools and libraries, which en- hances its functionalities and allows comprehensive simulations of the processes) At the same time, some disadvantages were identified, including: □ Complexity (it can be hard to understand and challenging for new users, requiring significant investments of time and effort to learn it) □ Poor documentation (its documentation may not always be up-to-date or compre- hensive enough, which causes difficulties for users who need specific guidance or support) □ Performance (it can have limitations of performance in case of very complex simu- lations, particularly while being used with less powerful hardware) (Arih, 2024) Digitalization is also happening in Slovenian public services and administration, where areas for potential enhancements with IT have been identified. For instance, in the public healthcare system, with systems for the provision of feedback of customers, which can help improve the quality of the services (Mohorič Kenda, 2018), or in tax collection, with improved data management systems, which can help simplify and streamline the process and collection, as well as distribution utilization of the taxes collected, for example, for the development of the infrastructure and services (Koz- lovič, 2016). In some cases, the implementation of IT enhancements has already started and was reported, for instance, a project for the renovation of information infrastructure in the Ministry of Public Administration. The results analysis has shown improved delivery of services, better management of data, increased transparency of operating, and general satisfaction of citizens as key benefits. At the same time, such projects require continuous monitoring, engagement of stakeholders, and regular adoption of technological advancements (Lojk, 2016). The results analysis of another project for the centralization of ICT at the same ministry has also identified some benefits, such as improved efficiency, reduction of costs, enhanced security of data, and better mana- gement of resources. At the same time, some challenges were also identified, primarily related to human resources, e.g. necessity for training, resistance to change, and tech- nical issues. However, the benefits prevail, and it is recommended to continue such projects across the entire public sector (Primec, 2023). Of course, there are or could be some issues present during the process of digitali- zation in the public sector. For example, data security risks, because the governmental institution can be the target of different kinds of cyberattacks. The success of such 30 Revija za ekonomske in poslovne vede (2, 2024) attacks may have a significant negative effect on the citizens’ trust. However, those problems can be prevented with the utilization of advanced encryption techniques and methods for secure authentication, as well as with the conduction of regular security audits. Additionally, digitalization may help to reduce risks of corruption by enhan- cing accountability, transparency, and traceability of distribution and utilization the public funds (Arnšek, 2024; Černe, 2022). As elsewhere, the digitalization of the public administration in Slovenia can be enhanced by OSS. Organizations from the governmental sector often face such chal- lenges as budget limitations and high expectations and demands from the citizens. Utilization of modern IT and software can help make their operation faster and much more efficient. Some European countries have already implemented a certain kind of OSS in the public sector organizations. Analysis has shown that this helped improve such aspects as efficiency and cost-effectiveness by reducing licensing costs associa - ted with proprietary software. OSS also has such benefits as adaptability and flexibili- ty, because it can be tailored to meet the specific customers’ needs. Additionally, OSS may provide governmental institutions independence from the specific traditional pri- vate providers. Of course, there are some smaller short-term shortcomings, similar to other economic sectors, but still, long-term opportunities and benefits outweigh (Dujić, 2007; Upelj, 2010). In terms of sustainability of IT in Slovenia, for instance, the so-called green com- puting has been studied. It is a kind of strategy intended to reduce the carbon emissi- ons of computing and consequently contribute to a healthier and safer environment. There were both positive and negative findings in this field. On the one side, Slovenia stays outside of the rest of the world in terms of awareness and adoption, with approxi- mately 80 percent of the population never having heard about the concept itself. At the same time, there is a growing recognition of the importance of green computing and its potential benefits, with half of the respondents of the thematical survey recognizing it as a significant element of the organizational strategy in the near future (Milošič, 2023). 4 Discussion With respect to RQ1, it can be identified that software engineering economics is a branch of economics studying the business area related to the development of software at all stages. It plays an important role in the ongoing digitalization of the entire eco- nomy, which was one of its most significant trends in the recent past, and the results of both parts of the research have shown its importance in global and Slovenian envi- ronments. In both of them, digitalization faces issues but still brings much more bene- fits than problems. Answering RQ2-RQ4, it can be stated that the economic branch of software engineering and its specifics have similarities in both environments as well. Despite the fact that the models and techniques utilized on the national market have not been studied locally in the recent past, they can be assumed to be similar because 31 Maksim Nikitashin: Economics of Software Engineering in Slovenia of the large number of the same trends and issues. For example, both the national and the global business fields have a trend of implementating and utilizing agile principles in management. Also, both of them are facing the negative impact of digital piracy, even though in Slovenia, the problem is a little bit more acute, similarly to all develo- ping countries. Also, in the local and the global environments, the potential of coope- ration between the developers and distributors of OSS and the public institutions, as well as its overweighing benefits, have been identified (RQ2-RQ7). At the same time, some local deviations and specifics were found, for example, addressing RQ2-RQ4, in the structure of the markets in general. The Slovenian market has a much bigger share of the small and medium-sized organizations. For this reason, some specific models for IT management have been developed and recommended for utilization there. Additionally, similarly to most post-socialistic countries, Slovenia has a relatively big public sector in terms of economy. According to the data published by the OECD, Slovenia has a small under-average percentage of working power employed in the public sector and above average size of the sector (“Government at a Glance 2023: Slovenia,” n.d.). It is probably due to this reason that more research on the IT and software in governmental organizations was conducted than on average. Also for this reason, it is much more important to consider the research results and finding about OSS, as well as the cooperation of its developers with public institutions, since it may be more critical for the country and its economic environment and can bring import benefits for both parts, as well as help in the development of the Slovenian national economy (RQ3, RQ4). Another important moment is sustainability and its promotion due to its important role in the modern economy; it can bring a lot of long-term benefits outweighing short -term issues. However, at the same time, it is still poorly known in Slovenia and a large percent of the population has never heard of some of the important concepts; on the other hand, people have shown the understanding of the importance of sustainability and its application in the economy in general (RQ3, RQ4, RQ6, RQ7). 5 Conclusion In conclusion, it should be mentioned that the research has limitations, including its theoretical nature in general and the limited number of sources studied. It has not included any kind of analysis of the real economic and business area, neither globally nor locally. However, it was, for the most part, structurally and comprehensively con- ducted, in strict accordance with the well-established and widely recognized literature research methodologies and the plan defined at the beginning. For this reason, it can be described as successful and its results as useful. The findings of this work can be utilized for different purposes. For instance, for professionals working in the field in leading or technical roles, both locally and around the globe, as a comprehensive overview and guidelines for understanding the econo- 32 Revija za ekonomske in poslovne vede (2, 2024) mics of the area and work organization of companies. Also, this work can be utilized for the promotion and improvement of the studied concepts in Slovenia. In the end, it can be a good starting point for continuing the research on the topic both in Slovenian or similar national economic environments and globally. Maksim Nikitashin Ekonomija programskega inženirstva v Sloveniji Informacijske tehnologije (IT) so v nedavni preteklosti postale pomemben del so- dobnega gospodarstva in njegove nenehne digitalizacije. Hkrati so oblikovale lastno gospodarsko in poslovno polje z veliko posebnostmi. Tako informacijska tehnologija kot gospodarstvo vplivata drug na drugega. Prva s stalno neustavljivo digitalizacijo vseh poslovnih področij. Slednje z vplivom gospodarskih in nacionalnih posebnosti na ljudi in organizacije, ki se ukvarjajo z informacijskimi tehnologijami kjer koli po svetu. Programsko inženirstvo je veja informacijskih tehnologij, ki se ukvarja s program- sko opremo za računalnike. Ta je zelo pomembna za napredek informacijskih tehno- logij in digitalizacijo gospodarstva, saj računalniki brez programske opreme lahko postanejo neuporabni. Tudi ta veja je v zadnjih desetletjih oblikovala svoje poslovno podpodročje z večjim številom posebnosti. Vendar sta tako informacijska tehnologi- ja kot programski inženiring še vedno naložbeno tvegana in na nekaterih področjih slabo raziskana. To velja tudi za tematike ekonomskih principov, modelov, tehnik in njihovih specifik na področju IT. Navedeno je prisotno tako v svetovnem merilu kot predvsem v nekaterih lokalnih nacionalnih okoljih, kot je slovensko. Razumevanje teh tem lahko bistveno izboljša delovanje področja in delo na njem ter zmanjša število nastajajočih težav. Zaradi tega je pomembno izvajati strukturirane študije te tematike na globalni in tudi nacionalni ravni. Predstavljena raziskava je zaporedne kvalitativne narave. Prvi del obsega pregled literature o globalni ekonomiji programskega inženiringa, njenih trendih in posebno- stih. Navedena metodologija je izbrana predvsem zaradi slabe priučenosti tematike. Sledi drugi del: narativni literarni pregled izbranih tem v slovenskem okolju, ki temelji na ugotovitvah prvega dela. Pri obeh metodologijah je potrebno določiti tematike, vprašanja in ključne besede, nato pa opraviti iskanje, analizirati in sintetizirati re- zultate ter zapisati ugotovitve. Razlika je v tem, da prva običajno v začetnem delu zahteva še določene kriterije ter je bolj splošna in manj selektivna kot druga. Za iska- nje v prvem delu je bila izbrana znanstvena baza Scopus kot ena največjih in najbolj prepoznavnih. V primeru narativnega pregleda je iskanje potekalo v bazi podatkov COBISS kot največji nacionalni bazi podatkov, ki vsebuje največje število raziskoval- nih del o Sloveniji in njenem okolju. 33 Maksim Nikitashin: Economics of Software Engineering in Slovenia V prvem delu so določene posebnosti in trendi, kot so pomembnost in največje prednosti digitalizacije sodobnega gospodarstva in poslovanja na skoraj vseh obsto- ječih področjih z veliko primeri, pomemben vpliv programskega inženirstva na proces digitalizacije, uporaba predvsem modelov in tehnik, povezanih s stroškovno učinkovi- tostjo v sektorju razvoja programske opreme, kot so analiza stroškov in koristi, analiza donosnosti naložbe, analiza konstruktivnega stroškovnega modela (COCOMO), ana- liza kompromisov, analiza skupnih stroškov lastništva, analiza neto sedanje vrednosti in analiza ekonomske dodane vrednosti, tudi pomembna vloga upravljanja kakovosti, ekonomskih spodbud, vključevanja uporabnikov, posebej poslovnih strokovnjakov, efektivnosti in razumevanja potreb pri razvoju ter javne prepoznavnosti produkcije. Določene so tudi posebnosti področja, kot je na primer trend uvajanja agilnih metodologij in principov, ki prispevajo k povečanju učinkovitosti in inovativnosti. Drugačna izmed omenjenih posebnosti je odprtokodna programska oprema. To je vrsta opreme, ki so jo razvili prostovoljni programerji, ki sodelujejo prek neformalnih skupnosti. Ti sistemi se distribuirajo prosto in so lahko konkurenca klasični plačljivi programski opremi. Odprtokodna oprema močno pospešuje inovacije in razvoj ter ima svoji unikatni ekonomski načeli. Stroški razvoja so minimalni zaradi prostovoljnega prispevka. Razvijalci takšnih sistemov izumljajo povsem nove strategije monetizacije, kot so plačljive podporne storitve, razvoj prilagojenih različic, licenciranje in storitve gostovanja. Zaradi njene visoke konkurenčnosti nekatera tradicionalna podjetja zdaj svoje modele preusmerjajo na modele, ki temeljijo na odprtokodni opremi. Hkrati je prisotnih nekaj pomislekov o trajnosti takšne opreme. Poleg tega so razlogi, kot so zvestoba bolj priljubljenim in splošno priznanim rešitvam ter pomanjkanje ozaveš- čenosti, usposabljanja in podpore javnosti, omenjeni kot ovire pri razvoju in uporabi odprtokodne opreme. Hkrati pa ima odprtokodna programska oprema potencial za vzajemno koristno uporabo v javnih institucijah. Podpora javnim in vladnim organizacijam je lahko reši- tev za prej naštete omejitve. Po eni strani odprtokodna oprema lahko prispeva k rasti gospodarstva države s pospeševanjem digitalizacije, povečanjem konkurenčnosti trga, ustvarjanjem inovacij in delovnih mest ter razvojem novih poslovnih modelov. Po dru- gi strani pa lahko javna podpora in financiranje zmanjšata finančno breme, povezano z razvojem, in zagotovita dolgoročno stabilnost projektov odprtokodne programske opreme. Vendar kot pri vsakem programskem projektu je pomembno upoštevati vse ekonomske vidike in pred dejanskimi investicijami opraviti vse prej opisane analize standardov. To je lahko zelo zapleteno in problematično, zato je treba uporabiti po- sebej razvite komplete orodij, ki upoštevajo možne gospodarske, socialne in tehnične vplive. Še ena posebnost je digitalno piratstvo in njegov negativni vpliv na poslovno po- dročje. Ugotovljeno je bilo, da piratstvo škodi gospodarski rasti področja, saj zmanj- šuje ekonomske spodbude razvojnim podjetjem za ustvarjanje novih izdelkov, kar upo- časnjuje tehnološki napredek in rast produktivnosti. Ob tem je bilo poudarjeno, da je to razmerje zelo kompleksno in kontroverzno. 34 Revija za ekonomske in poslovne vede (2, 2024) Zadnja posebnost, ki pa ni po značaju prav določena posebnost, je trend traj- nosti ter njene pretežne dolgoročne koristi ne zgolj za gospodarstvo, ampak tudi za družbo in okolje. Poseben značaj ima tako imenovana družbena trajnost. Njen vidik igra izjemno pomembno vlogo pri sodobnem razvoju programske opreme. Vključuje ustvarjanje tehnologije, ki pomaga izboljšati življenje ljudi in hkrati blaži socialna tveganja ter teži k minimaliziranju negativnih vplivov na družbo in ljudi ter gospodar- stvo in okolje. Pomaga zmanjšati negativne družbene vplive, kot so socialna izolacija, kibernetski kriminal in kapitalizem nadzora. Tukaj je eno od ključnih priporočil za razvijalce in organizacije, ki naj dajo prednost antisocialnim funkcijam in spodbujajo v svojih izdelkih pozitivne socialne interakcije in vključenost. Rezultati drugega dela raziskave so pokazali podobnosti in odstopanja med na- cionalnim in globalnim gospodarstvom. Podobnosti, ki so bile najdene v trendih upravljanja, so implementacija in uporaba agilnih metodologij in principov ter rast trga odprtokodne programske opreme in njen dober potencial za sodelovanje z vlad- nimi in javnimi institucijami. Poleg tega so nekatere težave, s katerimi se soočajo, podobne tako globalno kot lokalno. Hkrati pa obstajajo razlike, ki so posledica predvsem nacionalnih gospodarskih struktur. Na primer deleži organizacij na trgu glede na velikost, lahko z večjim od- stotkom malih in srednje velikih podjetij, kar je vodilo v razvoj lokalno specifičnih modelov za upravljanje informacijskih tehnologij. Drugi primer je nadpovprečna velikost javnega sektorja, značilna za postsociali- stične države. Analiza rezultatov projekta informatizacije in digitalizacije na ministr- stvu za javno upravo je kot ključne koristi pokazala izboljšano učinkovitost poslova- nja, zmanjšanje stroškov, večjo varnost podatkov, boljše upravljanje virov, izboljšano izvajanje storitev, boljše upravljanje s podatki, večjo transparentnost poslovanja in splošno zadovoljstvo občanov. Hkrati pa tovrstni projekti zahtevajo stalno spremlja- nje, vključevanje deležnikov in redno sprejemanje tehnoloških dosežkov. Zaradi velikosti in značilnosti javnega sektorja so ugotovitve v zvezi z njo, zlasti tiste, povezane z odprtokodno programsko opremo, veliko bolj kritične, saj lahko pri- pomore tako k večji učinkovitosti in transparentnosti delovanja kot tudi zadovoljstvu prebivalstva. Ta odstopanja morajo upoštevati vsi akterji na nacionalnem trgu. Prav tako so nekateri ugotovljeni izzivi bolj pereči ali specifični za Slovenijo. Na primer, višja od povprečja je stopnja digitalnega piratstva, značilna za države v ra- zvoju. Ugotovljeni razlogi za visoko stopnjo piratstva so visoki stroški legalnih vsebin, nedostopnost nekaterih storitev in enostaven dostop do piratskih vsebin brez stroge- ga nadzora nad njihovo distribucijo. To povzroča gospodarske izgube ustvarjalcem in zakonitim distributerjem storitev in vsebin. Razmere so se spremenile na bolje z zmanjšanjem stopnje piratstva v bližnji preteklosti. Vendar pa so še vedno potrebne spremembe za boj proti navedenemu problemu, na primer povečanje dostopnosti do zakonitih virov distribucije ali veliko strožja zakonodaja o avtorskih pravicah in nad- zor nad njeno skladnostjo. 35 Maksim Nikitashin: Economics of Software Engineering in Slovenia Drugačno glede na omenjene izzive je slabo prepoznavanje načel trajnosti in- formacijskih tehnologij in zelenega računalništva med prebivalstvom. Na eni strani Slovenija ostaja pod svetovnim povprečjem v smislu ozaveščenosti in sprejemanja, saj približno 80 odstotkov prebivalstva še nikoli ni slišalo za sam koncept. Hkrati narašča prepoznavnost pomena zelenega računalništva in njegovih potencialnih koristi, saj ga polovica anketirancev tematske ankete prepoznava kot pomemben element strategije organizacij v bližnji prihodnosti. Opisani vidik trajnosti je ključen za prihodnost dr- žave in njenega gospodarstva nasploh zaradi dolgoročnih koristi za naravno okolje, družbo in gospodarstvo samo ter pretehta vse kratkoročne pomanjkljivosti. Ugotovljene razlike zahtevajo dodatno posebno obravnavo na lokalni ravni in ne- katere od njih, kot sta digitalno piratstvo in trajnost, opredeljujejo izzive za prihodnost sektorja programskega inženiringa v Sloveniji. Izsledke raziskave lahko poslovni in tehniški strokovnjaki, zaposleni na tem področju, uporabijo za izboljšanje razumeva- nja in znanja o ekonomiji poslovnega področja tako globalno kot lokalno. Prav tako jih je mogoče uporabiti za promocijo in izboljšanje proučevanih konceptov v Sloveniji ter kot dobro izhodišče za nadaljevanje raziskovalnega dela o analiziranih temah. LITERATURE 1. Ampatzoglou, A., Ampatzoglou, A., Chatzigeorgiou, A. and Avgeriou, P. (2015). The financial aspect of managing technical debt: A systematic literature review. Information and Software Technology, 64, 52–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infsof.2015.04.001 2. Arih, Z. (2024). Ocena odprtokodnega programskega okolja idaes za potrebe procesnega inženirstva : diplomsko delo visokošolskega strokovnega študijskega programa I. stopnje [Bachelor’s thesis, Z. Arih]. Digital library of University of Maribor. https://dk.um.si/ IzpisGradiva.php?lang=eng&id=89305 3. Arnšek, T. (2024). Digitalizacija javnih naročil in korupcijska tveganja[Master’s thesis]. Digital library of University of Maribor. https://dk.um.si/IzpisGradiva.php?lang=eng&id=86911 4. Ayoola, B., Kuutila, M., Wehbe, R. R. and Ralph, P. (2024). User personas improve social sustainability by encouraging software developers to deprioritize antisocial features. arXiv (Cornell University). https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2412.10672 5. Begicheva, S., Begicheva, A. and Nazarov, D. (2024). Constructing a model to identify the determinants of successful software import substitution. Business Informatics, 18(3), 7–23. https:// doi.org/10.17323/2587-814x.2024.3.7.23 6. Bitzer, J. and Schröder, P. J. (2006). The Economics of Open source Software Development. In Elsevier eBooks (pp. 1–13). https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-044452769-1/50001-9 7. Boehm, B. W. (1984). Software Engineering Economics. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, SE-10(1), 4–21. https://doi.org/10.1109/tse.1984.5010193 8. Boehm, B. W. and Sullivan, K. J. (2000). Software economics. In ICSE ’00: Proceedings of the Conference on The Future of Software Engineering (pp. 319–343). https://doi. org/10.1145/336512.336584 9. Černe, Ž. (2022). Varnostni vidiki e-uprave – analiza nevarnosti napadov z lažnim predstavljanjem [Bachelor’s thesis]. Repository of the University of Ljubljana. https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/ IzpisGradiva.php?lang=eng&id=141735 10. Dujić, S. (2007). Odprtokodne in proste programske rešitve kot dejavnik učinkovite in gospodarne javne uprave : diplomsko delo [Bachelor’s thesis, S. Dujić]. Repository of the University of Ljubljana. http://dk.fdv.uni-lj.si/diplomska/pdfs/Dujic-Sladjan.PDF 36 Revija za ekonomske in poslovne vede (2, 2024) 11. Enterprise births and enterprise deaths by ACTIVITY , YEAR, MEASURES and SIZE OF ENTERPRISE-PxWeb. (n.d.). PxWeb. https://pxweb.stat.si/SiStatData/pxweb/en/Data/- /1418405S.px/ 12. Felderer, M., Reussner, R. and Rumpe, B. (2020). Software Engineering und Software-Engineering- Forschung im Zeitalter der Digitalisierung. Informatik-Spektrum, 44(2), 82–94. https://doi. org/10.1007/s00287-020-01322-y 13. Fernandez, R. N., Ribeiro, F. G., & Del Ponte Duarte, J. M. (2018). Effects of software piracy on economic growth. International Journal of Economics and Finance, 10(6), 1. https://doi. org/10.5539/ijef.v10n6p1 14. Government at a Glance 2023: Slovenia. (n.d.). In OECD. OECD. Retrieved January 26, 2025, from https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/government-at-a-glance-2023_c4200b14-en/ slovenia_e93fb938-en.html 15. Grundy, J. (2014). Foreword by John Grundy Economics-Driven Software Architecting. In Elsevier eBooks (pp. xxi–xxvi). https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-410464-8.00018-0 16. Hamori, S. and Bhar, R. (2004). Hidden Markov Models: Applications to Financial Economics. https://openlibrary.org/books/OL3303963M/Hidden_Markov_models 17. High-growth enterprises by ACTIVITY , YEAR and INDICATOR-PxWeb. (n.d.). PxWeb. https:// pxweb.stat.si/SiStatData/pxweb/en/Data/-/1430910S.px/ 18. Kamau, J. and Namuye, S. (2012). A review of users adoption of open source software in Africa. Computer and Information Science, 5(5). https://doi.org/10.5539/cis.v5n5p45 19. Kiselak, M. (2022). Vpliv globalizacije in digitalizacije na management človeških virov [Magistrsko delo, M. Kiselak]. Digitalna knjižnica Univerze v Mariboru. https://dk.um.si/IzpisGradiva. php?lang=slv&id=81345 20. Kopina, M. (2018). Samo-organizacija procesov informacijskih storitev [Doctoral dissertation, D. Kopina]. Digital library of University of Maribor. https://dk.um.si/IzpisGradiva. php?lang=eng&id=48120 21. Kozlovič, T. (2016). Prenova procesov vodenja in obdelave podatkov o prihodih ter nočitvah turistov in turistični taksi v Sloveniji [Master’s thesis]. Digital library of University of Maribor. https://dk.um.si/IzpisGradiva.php?lang=eng&id=61515 22. Kshetri, N. (2025). Economics of open source software and AI models. Computer, 58(1), 134–141. https://doi.org/10.1109/mc.2024.3488974 23. Kulibaba, I. and Barinov, V . (2024). Software solution for growing crops on an individual land plot. BIO Web of Conferences, 141, 01018. https://doi.org/10.1051/bioconf/202414101018 24. Levstek, A. (2022). Razvoj prilagodljivega modela strateškega upravljanja informatike za srednje velika podjetja [Doctoral dissertation]. Digital library of University of Maribor. https://dk.um.si/ IzpisGradiva.php?lang=eng&id=81461 25. Lojk, J. (2016). Analiza projekta prenove informatike v slovenski javni upravi [Master’s thesis]. Repository of the University of Ljubljana. http://www.cek.ef.uni-lj.si/magister/lojk5358.pdf 26. Madauss, B. (2024). IT support in projects: Project management software. In Springer eBooks (pp. 597–614). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-69057-4_18 27. Milošič, N. (2023). Opredelitev, uvajanje in prakse zelenega računalništva v Sloveniji in tujini [Master’s thesis, N. Milošič]. Digital library of University of Maribor. https://dk.um.si/ IzpisGradiva.php?lang=eng&id=84781 28. Mohorič Kenda, A. (2018). Stalno izboljševanje modela kazalnikov kakovosti zdravstva s povratno informacijo sistema e-pritožb [Doctoral dissertation]. Digital library of University of Maribor. https://dk.um.si/IzpisGradiva.php?lang=eng&id=66447 29. Money, W. H., Kaisler, S. H. and Cohen, S. J. (2021). Understanding Failed Software Projects through Forensic Analysis. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 62(5), 940–953. https://doi. org/10.1080/08874417.2021.1950076 30. Nikitashin, M. (2025). AI and UI Development: A Case Study of Mobile Application X. Uporabna Informatika. https://doi.org/10.31449/upinf.244 37 Maksim Nikitashin: Economics of Software Engineering in Slovenia 31. Nikitashin, M., Kaluža, M. and Werber, B. (2024). Analysis of Methodologies and Tools for Software Development in Different Architectures. In 2024 47th MIPRO ICT and Electronics Convention (MIPRO) (pp. 1999–2007). https://doi.org/10.1109/mipro60963.2024.10569545 32. Number of enterprises by YEAR, ELECTRONIC EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION IN THE ENTERPRISE and ENTERPRISE SIZE CLASS-PxWeb. (n.d.). PxWeb. https://pxweb.stat.si/ SiStatData/pxweb/en/Data/-/2965311S.px/table/tableViewLayout2/ 33. Number of enterprises by YEAR, PURCHASE OF CLOUD COMPUTING SERVICE and ENTERPRISE SIZE CLASS-PxWeb. (n.d.). PxWeb. https://pxweb.stat.si/SiStatData/pxweb/en/ Data/-/2973709S.px/ 34. Oršič, J. (2023). Merjenje in upravljanje trajnostnega delovanja pri zunanjih izvajalcih logističnih storitev v realnem času [Doctoral dissertation, J. Oršič]. Digital library of University of Maribor. https://dk.um.si/IzpisGradiva.php?lang=eng&id=86362 35. Osborne, C., Sharratt, P., Foster, D. and Boehm, M. (2024). A toolkit for measuring the impacts of public funding on open source software development. arXiv (Cornell University). https://doi. org/10.48550/arxiv.2411.06027 36. Primec, A. (2023). Centralizacija informacijske komunikacijske tehnologije v javni upravi: študija na izbranem ministrstvu [Bachelor’s thesis]. Repository of the University of Ljubljana. https:// repozitorij.uni-lj.si/IzpisGradiva.php?lang=eng&id=146758 37. Prša, M. (2015). Prosta in odprtokodna programska oprema v gradbeništvu : diplomska naloga [Bachelor’s thesis, M. Prša]. Repository of the University of Ljubljana. https://repozitorij. uni-lj.si/IzpisGradiva.php?lang=eng&id=79934 38. Qiang, Y ., Pa, N. C. and Ismail, R. (2024). Sustainable Software Solutions: a tool integrating life cycle analysis and ISO quality models. International Journal on Advanced Science Engineering and Information Technology, 14(5), 1728–1737. https://doi.org/10.18517/ijaseit.14.5.11268 39. Rusakova, E. and Bystrov, M. (2024). METHODOLOGY , TOOLKITS AND ORGANIZATION OF ADV ANCED SOFTWARE OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN ECONOMICS SYSTEMS IN ECONOMICS. Èkonomika I Predprinimatelʹstvo, 12(161), 1088–1095. https://doi.org/10.34925/ eip.2023.161.12.213 40. Schott, V . and Ovtcharova, J. (2024). Integrating Sustainability into Software Development: A Global Categorization. In Contributions to finance and accounting (pp. 59–69). https://doi. org/10.1007/978-3-031-67547-8_6 41. Shi, M. (2010). Software Functional Testing from the Perspective of Business Practice. Computer and Information Science, 3(4). https://doi.org/10.5539/cis.v3n4p49 42. Smirnov, P. (2024). Generiranje poslovnih procesov z uporabo inteligentnega sistema chatgpt in orodja process space [Bachelor’s thesis]. Digital library of University of Maribor. https://dk.um.si/ IzpisGradiva.php?lang=eng&id=90621 43. Sneed, H. M. (1991). Economics of software re‐engineering. Journal of Software Maintenance Research and Practice, 3(3), 163–182. https://doi.org/10.1002/smr.4360030304 44. The usage of ICT hardware and computer networks in enterprises with 10 or more persons employed (NACE Rev. 2) by YEAR, ICT USAGE IN ENTERPRISES and ACTIVITY-PxWeb. (n.d.). PxWeb. https://pxweb.stat.si/SiStatData/pxweb/en/Data/-/2965102S.px/ 45. Thurimella, A. K. and Padmaja, T. M. (2014). Economic Models and Value-Based Approaches for product line architectures. In Elsevier eBooks (pp. 11–36). https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12- 410464-8.00002-7 46. Upelj, B. (2010). Odprti standardi in odprtokodne rešitve v javni upravi : diplomsko delo [Bachelor’s thesis, B. Upelj]. Repository of the University of Ljubljana. http://dk.fdv.uni-lj.si/diplomska/pdfs/ upelj-boris.pdf 47. Usman, M., Britto, R., Börstler, J. and Mendes, E. (2017). Taxonomies in software engineering: A Systematic mapping study and a revised taxonomy development method. Information and Software Technology, 85, 43–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infsof.2017.01.006 38 Revija za ekonomske in poslovne vede (2, 2024) 48. Yanchenko, A. Y . (2024). Modeling of an information and economic system for the development of software for shipbuilding safety. Scientific Notes of the Russian Academy of Entrepreneurship, 23(3), 72–79. https://doi.org/10.24182/2073-6258-2024-23-3-72-79 49. Zabukovšek, U. (2016). Integracija celovitih informacijskih rešitev in sistemov za upravljanje proizvodnih procesov [Master’s thesis, U. Zabukovšek]. Digital library of University of Maribor. https://dk.um.si/IzpisGradiva.php?lang=eng&id=60346 50. Zabukovšek, U. (2024). Usklajenost poslovnih rešitev s poslovnimi zahtevami [Doctoral dissertation, U. Zabukovšek]. Digital library of University of Maribor. https://dk.um.si/ IzpisGradiva.php?lang=eng&id=86194 51. Żatuchin, D. (2024). Job Market Indicators in Software Development Sector: A Data-Driven Analysis of Poland and the Baltics. Research Square (Research Square). https://doi.org/10.21203/ rs.3.rs-5195074/v1 52. Zhu, W. and He, Y . (2016). ECONOMICS OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT. Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems, 247. http://dblp.uni-trier.de/db/conf/pacis/pacis2016. html#ZhuH16a 53. Žvar, B. (2023). Storitve videa na zahtevo in digitalno video piratstvo [Master’s thesis]. Digital library of University of Maribor. https://dk.um.si/IzpisGradiva.php?lang=eng&id=84599 Maksim Nikitashin, assistant at Faculty of Management, University of Primorska, Slovenia E-mail: max.nikitashin@gmail.com