How software process automation affects software evolution: a longitudinal empirical analysis

Abstract

This research analyzes longitudinal empirical data on commercial software applications to test and better understand how software evolves over time, and to measure the likely long‐term effects of a software process automation tool on software productivity and quality. The research consists of two parts. First, we use data from source control systems, defect tracking systems, and archived project documentation to test a series of hypotheses developed by Belady and Lehman about software evolution. We find empirical support for many of these hypotheses, but not all. We then further analyze the data using moderated regression analysis to discern how software process automation efforts at the research site influenced the software evolution lifecycles of the applications. Our results support the claim that automation has enabled the organization to accomplish more work activities with greater productivity, thereby significantly increasing the functionality of the applications portfolio. Despite the growth in software functionality, the analysis suggests that automation has helped to manage software complexity levels and to improve quality by reducing errors over time. Our models and their results demonstrate how longitudinal empirical software data can be used to reveal the often elusive long‐term benefits of investments in software process improvement, and to help managers make more informed resource‐allocation decisions. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The evolution of Eclipse

“…In this paper, we use measurements to characterise the evolution of Eclipse and explore the empirical support for three of the eight laws. Barry et al [1] classified the laws into three broad groups. Laws 1, 2, 6 and 7 are seen as related to the evolution characteristics of the software.…”

Evolution and Melioration of Software Management Processes

“…The most well-documented early attempt to study software evolution in a systematic way was conducted by Belady and Lehman beginning in the late 1960s [48,49]. Their early collaboration continued to expand over the next decade [48][49][50][51], and resulted in a set of laws of software evolution [48].…”

“…Their early collaboration continued to expand over the next decade [48][49][50][51], and resulted in a set of laws of software evolution [48]. In that seminal paper, Belady and Lehman outlined three laws of software evolution: (i) the law of continuous change, (ii) the law of increasing entropy, and (iii) the law of statistically smooth growth.…”

“…By the late 1990s, three additional laws of software evolution had been proposed: the law of continuing growth, the law of declining quality, and the feedback system [18,49]. In 2000, Lehman in his paper, "Towards a Theory of Software Evolution-And its Practical Impact," said that evolution is generally supported by black box and white box studies of the FEAST projects.…”

The Impact of Component Modularity on Design Evolution: Evidence from the Software Industry

“…Subsequent studies to verify these laws have produced mixed results (see Barry and Kemerer, 2007 for a comprehensive review). Much of the problem may stem from the deterministic nature of these laws, which aim to describe "central tendencies" in system evolution.…”