Software evolution

Software evolution is the term used in software engineering (specifically software maintenance) to refer to the process of developing software initially, then repeatedly updating it for various reasons.

Fred Brooks, in his key book The Mythical Man-Month, states that over 90% of the costs of a typical system arise in the maintenance phase, and that any successful piece of software will inevitably be maintained.

In fact, Agile methods stem from maintenance-like activities in and around web based technologies, where the bulk of the capability comes from frameworks and standards.

Software maintenance address bug fixes and minor enhancements and software evolution focus on adaptation and migration.

The aim of software evolution would be to implement (and revalidate) the possible major changes to the system without being able a priori to predict how user requirements will evolve. The existing larger system is never complete and continues to evolve. As it evolves, the complexity of the system will grow unless there is a better solution available to solve these issues. The main objectives of software evolution are ensuring the reliability and flexibility of the system. During the 20 years past, the lifespan of a system could be on average 6–10 years. However, it was recently found that a system should be evolved once every few months to ensure it is adapted to the real-world environment. This is due to the rapid growth of World Wide Web and Internet Resources that make it easier for users to find related information. The idea of software evolution leads to open source development as anybody could download the source codes and hence modify it. The positive impact in this case is large amounts of new ideas would be discovered and generated that aims the system to have better improvement in variety choices.

Over time, software systems, programs as well as applications, continue to develop. These changes will require new laws and theories to be created and justified. Some models as well would require additional aspects in developing future programs. Innovations and improvements do increase unexpected form of software development. The maintenance issues also would probably change as to adapt to the evolution of the future software. Software process and development are an ongoing experience that has a never-ending cycle. After going through learning and refinements, it is always an arguable issue when it comes to matter of efficiency and effectiveness of the programs.

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