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Title Understanding the Product Knowledge Acquisition Process in Multiprovider Software Evolution Scenarios: An Exploratory Study
Authors Anelis Pereira-Vale, Tomás Vera, Carlos Vásquez, Daniel Perovich, Jocelyn Simmonds, Sergio Ochoa
Publication date March 2025
Abstract Context: The life cycle of a custom software system
involves
multiple evolution projects, where each one can be carried out by a
different provider, i.e., software development company. When the provider
changes, the new one should understand the structure and functionality of
the product to evolve, in order to determine the scope, effort, risks and
uncertainties of the next evolution project. Regardless of its relevance in
practice, product comprehension has received little attention, particularly
in multiprovider evolution scenarios. This limits the ability of researchers
and practitioners to understand and improve this process.
Objective: To understand the process performed by software teams to discover
and assimilate the knowledge about the structure, functionality, and quality
aspects of a custom system developed by another team.
Method: We conducted an exploratory study that answered four research
questions considering two particular software evolution scenarios. The study
involved interviews with 19 project leaders from Chilean and Brazilian small
and medium-sized enterprises, who regularly participate in this type of
project.
Results: For each evolution scenario, we identified: 1) the underlying
structure and dynamic of the product knowledge acquisition process, 2) the
knowledge gathering activities and software artifacts used by the
development teams, and 3) how effective these teams were when performing
these activities. The study also identifies causes of low effectiveness of
teams in this process and promising research avenues to address them.
Conclusion: The product knowledge acquisition process is usually informal
and has low cost-effectiveness. Provider switching results in an important
loss of information and knowledge about the structure and functionality of
the product, which limits comprehension and evolution of the system. The
results show a clear need to change the status-quo in the customer-provider
relationship in the study scenarios, and open several research opportunities
to improve this process.
Pages 23
Volume 183
Journal name Information and Software Technology
Publisher Elsevier Science (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Reference URL View reference page