Handling the differential evolution of software artefacts : a framework for consistency management

Abstract

Modern software systems are subject to frequent changes. Different artefacts of a system, such as requirements specifications, design documents and source code, often evolve at different times and become inconsistent with one another. This differential evolution poses problems to effective software maintenance and erodes trust in artefacts as accurate representations of the system. In this paper, we propose a holistic framework for managing the consistent co-evolution of software artefacts, incorporating: traceability creation and maintenance, change detection, impact analysis, consistency checking and change propagation. The design of a prototype framework aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of the approach and its implementation are discussed with particular focus on representing artefacts and their relationships. The challenges of developing such a framework and plans for future work are also outlined.