On the need to update systematic literature reviews

Abstract Context Many Systematic Literature Reviews (SLRs) were performed in the recent past, but just a few are being updated. Keeping SLRs updated is essential to prolong their lifespan. Objective To give a picture about how SLRs are being updated and what researchers think about SLRs updates. Method In this work, we present a Systematic Mapping (SM) study about SLRs updates and a survey with EBSE researchers that published their SLRs between 2011 and 2015. Results We included 22 studies in the SM, where 15 changed some artifact from the original study, including changes in research questions. We obtained 28 answers in our survey with SLRs authors that, in general, consolidate interpretations retrieved from the SM, but some answers did not. Conclusion SLRs may lose their impact over the years. Identifying actions to keep them updated is of great importance to SLR research field.