Unified theory for software evolution

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E-Type System

Software implemented in a real world computing context, hence will evolve.

The Law of Continuing Change (1974)

E-type systems must adapt or become less satisfactory.

The Law of Increasing Complexity (1974)

As E-type systems evolve complexity increases, unless it is maintain or reduced.

The Law of Self Regulation (1974)

The E-type system evolution process is self-regulating with distribution of product and process measures close to normal.

The Law of Conservation of Organisational Stability (1980)

The average effective global activity rate in evolving E-type systems is invariant over product lifetime.

The Law of Conservation of Familiarity (1980)

As an E-type system evolves, all associated with it (developers, users, etc) must maintain mastery of content and behaviour to achieve satisfactory evolution. As excessive growth diminishes mastery, the average incremental growth remains invariant as systems evolve.

The Law of Continuing Growth (1980)

Functional content of E-type systems must continually increase over its lifetime to maintain user satisfaction.

The Law of Declining Quality (1996)

The quality of E-type systems will seem to decline unless they are maintained and adapted to changes in its operational environment.

The Feedback System Law (1996)

E-type evolution processes constitute multilevel, multi-loop, multi-agent feedback systems, and must be treated as such to achieve any improvements.

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References

1. ↑ Pressman, Roger. 2005: Software Engineering: A Practitioner's Approach (6 ed.) McGraw-Hill Higher Education. ISBN 007-123840-9 Chp 1