The ‘Vattn’ Case: Analysing Sustainability Impacts in a Software Startup

Abstract

Interest in sustainability research has increased in Software Engineering, however most research conducted over-look startups integrating sustainability into the development of their software systems. The goal of this paper is to contribute to filling this knowledge gap by showcasing how startups may adopt sustainability into their software system. This will be achieved using the Sustainability Awareness Framework (SusAF). To demonstrate the use of the SusAF for startups, we conducted a case study with the startup company Vattn, who are developing an online digital water management platform for easier access to clean drinking water. The results show that the SusAF provided the necessary discussion means in order for Vattn to discover the potential sustainability impacts of their software system in the five dimensions of sustainability and across the three orders of effect. Furthermore, the Vattn team were provided with the adequate tool to devise actions to support the identified positive sustainability impacts and mitigate the negative.