The Secret Life of a Process Description: A Look into the Evolution of a Large Process Model

Software process models must change continuously in order to remainconsistent over time with the reality they represent, as well as relevant tothe task they are intended for. Performing these changes in a sound and disciplinedfashion requires software process model evolution to be understood andcontrolled. The current situation can be characterized by a lack of understandingof software process model evolution and, in consequence, by a lack ofsystematic support for evolving software process models in organizations. Thispaper presents an analysis of the evolution of a large software process standard,namely, the process standard for the German Federal Government (V-Modell® XT). The analysis was performed with the Evolyzer tool suite, and is based onthe complete history of over 600 versions that have been created during the developmentand maintenance of the standard. The analysis reveals similaritiesand differences between process evolution and empirical findings in the area ofsoftware system evolution. These findings provide hints on how to better manageprocess model evolution in the future.

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