Functional paleontology:: The evolution of user-visible system services

被引:15
作者
Antón, AI
Potts, C
机构
[1] N Carolina State Univ, Dept Comp Sci, Raleigh, NC 27695 USA
[2] Georgia Inst Technol, Coll Comp, Atlanta, GA 30332 USA
关键词
measurement; metrics; empirical methods; reverse engineering; requirements engineering; software evolution;
D O I
10.1109/TSE.2003.1178053
中图分类号
TP31 [计算机软件];
学科分类号
081202 ; 0835 ;
摘要
It has long been accepted, that requirements analysis should precede architectural design and implementation, but in software evolution and reverse engineering this concern with black-box analysis of function has necessarily been de-emphasized in favor of code-based analysis and designer-oriented interpretation. In this paper, we, redress this balance by describing "functional paleontology," an approach to analyzing the evolution of user-visible features or services independent of architecture and design intent. We classify the benefits and burdens of interpersonal communication services into core and peripheral categories and investigate the telephony services available to domestic subscribers over a 50-year period. We report that services were introduced in discrete bursts, each of which emphasized different benefits and burdens. We discuss the general patterns of functional evolution that this "fossil record" illustrates and conclude by discussing their implications for forward engineering of software products.
引用
收藏
页码:151 / 166
页数:16
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