Software startups are newly created companies with no operating history and oriented towards producing cutting-edge products. However, despite the increasing importance of startups in the economy, few scientific studies attempt to address software engineering issues, especially for early-stage startups. If anything, startups need engineering practices of the same level or better than those of larger companies, as their time and resources are more scarce, and one failed project can put them out of business. In this study we aim to improve understanding of the software development strategies employed by startups. We performed this state-of-practice investigation using a grounded theory approach. We packaged the results in the Greenfield Startup Model (GSM), which explains the priority of startups to release the product as quickly as possible. This strategy allows startups to verify product and market fit, and to adjust the product trajectory according to early collected user feedback. The need to shorten time-to-market, by speeding up the development through low-precision engineering activities, is counterbalanced by the need to restructure the product before targeting further growth. The resulting implications of the GSM outline challenges and gaps, pointing out opportunities for future research to develop and validate engineering practices in the startup context.

翻译：软件初创公司是成立时间短、无运营历史、专注于开发前沿产品的企业。然而，尽管初创公司在经济中的重要性日益增加，鲜有科学研究尝试解决其软件工程问题，尤其是早期初创公司。事实上，初创公司需要与大型企业同等甚至更高水平的工程实践，因为它们的时间和资源更为稀缺，一次项目失败就可能导致公司倒闭。本研究旨在加深对初创公司软件开发策略的理解。我们采用扎根理论方法进行实践状态调查，并将结果整合为绿地初创模型（GSM），该模型解释了初创公司优先以最快速度发布产品的策略。这一策略使初创公司能够验证产品与市场的契合度，并根据早期收集的用户反馈调整产品方向。通过低精度工程活动加快开发以缩短上市时间的需求，与在进一步增长前重构产品的需求形成平衡。GSM模型所得启示指出了挑战与差距，为未来研究开发并验证初创环境下的工程实践提供了机遇。