Rules and Tools for Software Evolution Planning and Management

When first formulated in the early seventies, the laws of software evolution were, for a number of reasons, not widely accepted as relevant to software engineering practice. Over the years, however, they have gradually become recognised as providing useful inputs to understanding of the software process. Now eight in number, they have been supplemented by the software uncertainty principle and the FEAST (Feedback, Evolution And Software Technology) hypothesis. Based on all these and on the further results of the FEAST research projects this paper develops and presents some fifty rules for application in software system process planning and management and indicates tools available or that could usefully be developed to support their application. The listing is structured according to the laws that encapsulate the observed phenomena and that lead to the recommendations. Each sublist is preceded by a textual discussion providing at least some of the reasoning that has led to the recommended procedures. The references direct the interested reader to the literature that records observed behaviours, interpretations, models and metrics obtained from industrially evolved systems, and from which the recommendations were derived.     

Software Evolution and the Code Fault Introduction Process

In any manufacturing environment, the fault introduction rate might be considered one of the most meaningful criterion to evaluate the goodness of the development process. In many investigations, the estimates of such a rate are often oversimplified or misunderstood generating unrealistic expectations on the prediction power of regression models with a fault criterion. The computation of fault introduction rates in software development requires accurate and consistent measurement, which translates into demanding parallel efforts for the development organization. This paper presents the techniques and mechanisms that can be implemented in a software development organization to provide a consistent method of anticipating fault content and structural evolution across multiple projects over time. The initial estimates of fault introduction rates can serve as a baseline against which future projects can be compared to determine whether progress is being made in reducing the fault introduction rate, and to identify those development techniques that seem to provide the greatest reduction.     

中小软件企业软件过程管理与改进策略

针对我国中小软件企业的软件过程现状,从改进对象、过程模型、开发个体、自评估、辅助工具等方面提出了几点策略,并提出了中小软件企业软件过程管理与评估系统的简要设计思路,旨在为我国中小软件企业的软件过程管理与改进工作提供建议。     

Requirements Engineering and Downstream Software Development: Findings from a Case Study

Requirements management is being recognized as one of the most important albeit difficult phases in software engineering. The literature repeatedly cites the role of well-defined requirements and requirements management process in problem analysis and project management as benefiting software development throughout the life cycle: during design, coding, testing, maintenance and documentation of software. This paper reports on the findings of an investigation into industrial practice of requirements management process improvement and its positive effects on downstream software development. The evidence reveals a strong relationship between a well-defined requirements process and increased developer productivity, improved project planning through better estimations and enhanced ability for stakeholders to negotiate project scope. These results are important since there is little empirical evidence of the actual benefits of sound requirements practice, in spite of the plethora of claims in the literature. An account of these effects not only adds to our understanding of good requirements practice but also provides strong motivation for software organizations to develop programs for improvement of their requirements processes.     

A Dynamic Integrated Framework for Software Process Improvement

Current software process models (CMM, SPICE, etc.) strongly recommend the application of statistical control and measure guides to define, implement, and evaluate the effects of different process improvements. However, whilst quantitative modeling has been widely used in other fields, it has not been considered enough in the field of software process improvement. During the last decade software process simulation has been used to address a wide diversity of management problems. Some of these problems are related to strategic management, technology adoption, understanding, training and learning, and risk management, among others. In this work a dynamic integrated framework for software process improvement is presented. This framework combines traditional estimation models with an intensive utilization of dynamic simulation models of the software process. The aim of this framework is to support a qualitative and quantitative assessment for software process improvement and decision making to achieve a higher software development process capability according to the Capability Maturity Model. The concepts underlying this framework have been implemented in a software process improvement tool that has been used in a local software organization. The results obtained and the lessons learned are also presented in this paper.     

Empirical Measurement of the Effects of Cultural Diversity on Software Quality Management

The difficulties of achieving social acceptance for Software Quality Management systems have been underestimated in the past, and they will be exacerbated in the future by the globalization of the software market and the increasing use of cross-cultural development teams within multinational companies. Management that can take account of the cultural context of their endeavours will improve understanding, minimize risk and ensure a higher degree of success in improvement programs within the software industry.This paper addresses cross-cultural issues in Software Quality Management. Qualitative and quantitative research was carried out in five European countries by using a postal questionnaire. Empirical measures of organizational culture, national culture and their interdependence, are presented together with interim instruments developed for the purpose of classifying organizations. Verification of the statistical results from the survey was carried out by triangulation, which included qualitative research methods in the form of interviews and observation. Cultural factors, which may have bearing on successful adoption and implementation of Software Quality Management were identified, and an assessment model, has been developed for use by organizations developing software in different parts of the world. The intention is that the recommendations following from the assessment will lead to greater cultural awareness in addressing quality, and will provide stimulus for improvement. The model's aims is to predict to what degree there is a fit between the organizational and the national culture, and to give recommendations and guidelines for software process improvement.     

An Incremental Approach to Software Process Assessment and Improvement

This paper considers assessment techniques based on the use of questionnaires, assessment matrices, workshops, and pro-forma assessment schemas; together with people issues such as motivation and involvement. With strong reference to SPICE process capability levels and the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model, the authors suggest a novel framework containing a possible sequence of improvement steps towards the Established Level 3. The main conclusion in this paper is that an incremental improvement path can be defined using process assessment that commences with questionnaires, then goes on to matrices, workshops, and finally reaches pro-formas. Furthermore, it seems quite plausible that all four types of assessment techniques should be employed on an ongoing basis in a staged fashion.     

基于逻辑的软件演化操作语言及结构化操作语义

由于使用环境和新技术的不断变化,软件演化的控制变得日趋复杂.为了提高软件演化活动的可视化和形式化支持程度,结合谓词逻辑和软件演化,提出了一种软件演化操作语言SEOL(Software Evolution Operational Language)描述软件演化,给出了SEOL的语法和结构化操作语义描述,并指出了软件演化操作语义等价分析方法.结合软件代码演化和软件模型演化实例,说明了SEOL的应用.与已有的软件演化操作描述相比,SEOL在易用性、可重用性和形式化分析方面有明显的改善,为软件演化的管理、分析和实施奠定了基础.     

Modelling the Likelihood of Software Process Improvement: An Exploratory Study

Software process assessments have become big business worldwide. They can be a powerful tool for initiating and sustaining software process improvement (SPI). However, SPI programs sometimes fail. Moreover there still are very few systematic empirical investigations about the conditions under which SPI initiatives vary in their outcomes. In this paper we present the results of a study of factors that influence the success of SPI. The data come from a sample survey of organizations that have performed assessments based on the capability maturity model for software, and was conducted from 1 to 3 years after the assessments (sufficient time had passed for changes to have taken place). The results consist of a multivariate model of the conditions (e.g., how the improvement efforts are organized and funded) that can explain the successes and failures of SPI efforts. The model is constructed using a classification tree algorithm. It identifies the most important factors that affect the outcome of SPI efforts, and describes how those factors interact with each other to influence success or failure.     

SPICE: Software Process Improvement and Capability Determination

In June 1991, the International Standards group for Software Engineering approved a study period to investigate the need and requirements for a standard for software process management. A new international work item has been subsequently raised. The resulting project is named SPICE (Software Process Improvement and Capability Determination). The project aims to build on the best features of existing software assessment methods.     

Product Focused Software Process Improvement: Concepts and Experiences from Industry

Management problems in the development of software have been addressed over the last years by a strong focus on the improvement of the development processes. Software process improvement (SPI) activities are characterized by an internal focus on a software development department and its procedures. However, the quality of the product is hardly addressed in software process improvement programs. This paper presents the application of a model for product focused SPI (P-SPI) and describes experiences with this model in practice. The main conclusions are that P-SPI puts products to be developed in a central position in improvement programs, results in fulfilling specific quality goals of a company and project, and industrial experiments show interesting benefits. Applying the approach in industrial projects showed that P-SPI is relatively cheap and gives fast results and high benefits.     

Knowledge Management in Medium-Sized Software Consulting Companies

This thesis investigates how Intranet-based knowledge management tools are used for various strategies in medium-sized software consultancy companies. It consists of three main parts: A survey of empirical work on knowledge management in software engineering, a multicase study of four medium-sized companies, and finally a thorough study on tool usage in two companies.     

CMM与软件工程融合的应用

首先阐述了软件能力成熟度模型(CMM)的起因和发展，然后介绍了CMM的理论基础和核心思想，以及融合技术的意义。最后着重结合实例探讨了CMM与软件工程融合的应用，并指出了软件产业的发展趋势。     

正交软件体系结构的设计与进化

论述了正交软件体系结构的基本思想和结构框架．研究了正交软件体系结构的设计与进化过程．并将该过程运用到劳动和社会保险管理信息系统的设计、实现和进化中．实践证明，正交软件体系结构具有结构清晰、易于理解、易修改、可维护性强、可移植性强、重用粒度大等优点．     

软件过程改进中项目计划与跟踪的实例研究

项目的计划与跟踪是软件过程管理与改进活动中应该首先着手的方面。成熟的软件开发组织能够通过有效的软件项目计划与跟踪实现对项目的策划与监控。文章立足小组软件过程,以实际项目为背景,着重介绍了以项目计划和跟踪为主的软件过程改进实施活动。在此基础上,分析了相关项目的计划与跟踪数据,研究总结了实施中遇到的问题和经验,并提出了进一步完善的措施及相关支持工具的研制。     

Process Modelling and Empirical Studies of Software Evolution (PMESSE'97) Workshop Report

Much progress is being made in both the areas of process modelling and software metrics. However, neither of these concepts is complete without the other: processes cannot be improved if no assessment of quality is available, and metrics are useless if they cannot be applied in order to assess the evolution of systems. The PMESSE (Process Modelling and Empirical Studies of Software Evolution) Workshop, held in Boston MA, on May 18, 1997, brought together researchers and practitioners from both of these fields, and stimulated some very lively debate on these issues. This collection of reports reflects the work done by the Workshops five Working Groups.Dialogue between the software metrics and process modelling communities is essential. This workshop succeeded in bringing together researchers with a wide range of research interests, and the resulting discussions were very animated. Perhaps the most contentious point of discussion lay in the 'level of granularity' question; some suggested that only high-level measurements were sensible, whereas others preferred to 'divide and conquer' the system, providing detailed process measurement schemas. No doubt this debate will continue.     

On the limitations of software process assessment and the recognition of a required re-orientation for global process improvement

Through the years many techniques and tools have been tried and failed to deliver substantial global improvements to the software evolution process. The flavour of the early 1990s has been: attempted improvement using software process assessment methods such as CMM, BOOTSTRAP, etc. This paper represents a considerable and coherent critique of software process assessment as a process improvement driver, focusing on the concerns and perceived shortcomings present. A call is made to re-direct attention and resources towards understanding the true nature of software evolution and the software evolution process towards an adequate theory and practice for process improvement, all in order to save us from the computer. The important, possibly crucial role of feedback at many levels of the organizations that follow the processes that implement software development and maintenance is discussed. Utilizing some empirical findings in relation to software system evolution, it is suggested that the ignoring of feedback may be a major reason why the software process is so difficult to improve. It is argued that the clarification of such an important issue will help to achieve a significant step forward in process improvement, and through its exploitation, lead to significant improvements in quality, satisfaction and performance as well as more relevant education and training on process improvement.     

软件能力成熟度模型及其在软件测试过程中的应用

软件测试是质量保证的关键步骤。本文介绍了软件能力成熟度模型在软件测试过程中的相关支持和扩充,然后结合实际的软件测试过程,介绍了如何利用CMM改进软件测试过程。     

Software Process Improvement Problems in Twelve Software Companies: An Empirical Analysis

In this paper we discuss our study of the problems 12 software companies experienced in software development. In total we present qualitative data collected from 45 focus groups that involved over 200 software staff. We look at how different practitioner groups respond to software process improvement problems. We show our classification and analysis of this data using correspondence analysis. Correspondence analysis is a graphical data representation method new to software development research. The aim of the work we present is to develop a more holistic understanding of the problems practitioners are experiencing in their attempts to improve their software processes. Our main finding is that there is an association between a company's capability maturity and patterns of reported problems. Organizational problems are more associated with high maturity companies than with low maturity companies. Low maturity companies are closely linked to problems relating directly to projects such as documentation, timescales, tools and technology. Our findings also confirm differences in practitioner group problems. Senior managers cite problems with goals, culture and politics. Project managers are concerned with timescales, change management, budgets and estimates. Developers are experiencing problems with requirements, testing, documentation, communication, tools and technology. These associations are displayed graphically through correspondence analysis maps.