Towards a holistic framework for software artefact consistency management
Abstract
A software system is represented by different software artefacts ranging from
requirements specifications to source code. As the system evolves, artefacts are often
modified at different rates and times resulting in inconsistencies, which in turn can
hinder effective communication between stakeholders, and the understanding and
maintenance of systems. The problem of the differential evolution of heterogeneous
software artefacts has not been sufficiently addressed to date as current solutions
focus on specific sets of artefacts and aspects of consistency management and are
not fully automated. This thesis presents the concept of holistic artefact consistency
management and a proof-of-concept framework, ACM, which aim to support the
consistent evolution of heterogeneous software artefacts while minimising the impact
on user choices and practices and maximising automation. The ACM framework
incorporates traceability, change impact analysis, change detection, consistency
checking and change propagation mechanisms and is designed to be extensible. The
thesis describes the design, implementation and evaluation of the framework, and an
approach to automate trace link creation using machine learning techniques. The
framework evaluation uses six open source systems and suggests that managing the
consistency of heterogeneous artefacts may be feasible in practical scenarios.
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
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