An Analogy-Based Approach for Predicting Design Stability of Java Classes

Predicting stability in object-oriented (OO) software, i.e., the ease with which a software item evolves while preserving its design, is a key feature for software maintenance. In fact, a well designed OO software must be able to evolve without violating the compatibility among versions, provided that no major requirement reshuffling occurs. Stability, like most quality factors, is a complex phenomenon and its prediction is a real challenge. In this paper, we present an approach which relies on the case-based reasoning (CBR) paradigm and thus overcomes the handicap of insufficient theoretical knowledge on stability. The approach explores structural similarities between classes, expressed as software metrics, to guess their chances of becoming unstable. In addition, our stability model binds its value to the impact of changing requirements, i.e., the degree of class responsibilities increase between versions, quantified as the stress factor. As a result, the prediction mechanism fav...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2003
• Where: METRICS
• Authors: David Grosser, Houari A. Sahraoui, Petko Valtchev
• Keywords: METRICS 2003, OO Software, Requirement Reshuffling Occurs, Stability Model