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. 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. Software technologies will 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 processes are themselves evolving, after going through learning and refinements, it is always improve their efficiency and effectiveness. The need for software evolution comes from the fact that no one is able to predict how user requirements will evolve a priori . In other words, the existing systems are never complete and continue to evolve. As they evolve, the complexity of the systems will grow unless there is a better solution available to solve these issues. The main objectives of software evolution are ensuring functional relevance, reliability and flexibility of the system. Software evolution can be fully manual (based on changes by software engineers), partially automated (e.g. using refactoring tools) or fully automated (with autonomous configuration or evolution).