| dc.description.abstract | Software products that no longer meet current customer and market demands are classified as legacy information systems. Legacy information systems can cause problems related to costs, maintenance, accessibility and extensibility. In order to prevent such issues, software evolution by implementing new software platforms in the product portfolio can reveal new opportunities for a software product.
No structured approach towards the mapping of functionality between software platforms exists. A structured approach increases efficiency and allows for comparison and benchmarking of results. The results of an instantiation of the method can be used for product roadmapping, such that a software product manager can make strategic decisions based on the resulting product requirements.
Based on a literature review and expert interviews, a first version of the template method has been designed. By applying the method in a case study, we analyze the template method and its performance. Method increments are designed based on the analysis, which improve the method's next version. The incremental method engineering process is repeated until a stable version of the method is designed. We call this template method the Software Functionality Evolution Method (SFEM).
The SFEM aligns with the Software Product Management Competence Model in three categories, Triggers, Execution and Output. Triggers concern focus areas in the Competence Model which initiate an instantiation of the template method. Execution designates focus areas that are supported by a template method instantiation. Finally, Output focus areas can use the results of an instantiation as input for the execution of their activities.
To allow for reflection on the incremental method engineering process, a categorization for method increments is proposed. This categorization is applied to the method increments and their reasoning and motivation. This concept assists a researcher in explicit reflection of the method engineering process. | |
