Visual software evolution reconstruction

The analysis of the evolution of large software systems is challenging for many reasons, such as the retrieval and processing of historical information and the large quantity of data that must be dealt with. While recent advances in research have led to the solutions to these problems, a central question remains: How do we deal with this information in a methodical way and where do we start with our analysis? We present a methodology based on interactive visualizations that support the reconstruction of the evolution of software systems. We propose several visualizations which help us to perform software evolution analysis of a system ‘in the large’ and ‘in the small’, and apply them to two large systems. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. The analysis of the evolution of large software systems is challenging for many reasons, such as the retrieval and processing of historical information and the large quantity of data that must be dealt with. We present a methodology based on interactive visualizations which support the reconstruction of the evolution of software systems. We propose several visualizations which help us to perform software evolution analysis of a system ‘in the large’ and ‘in the small’, and apply them to two large systems. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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