Investigating Project Factors Boosting Spontaneous Software Evolution
Masahide Nakamura, Kenichi Matsumoto · Sekkei Kougaku, Shisutemu Bumon Kouenkai kouen rombunshuu/Sekkei Kogaku, Shisutemu Bumon Koenkai koen ronbunshu · 2018
This paper addresses an issue of spontaneous software evolution, which is a modern form of software evolution observed in social coding platforms such as GitHub. In the spontaneous software evolution, feature additions and modifications of software are achieved by spontaneous proposals from individual developers, not by the request from the project manager. In this paper, we investigate project factors that can boost such spontaneous software evolution. Specifically, we first introduce a governance framework of the spontaneous evolution, inspired by a smart city execution model, and then consider relevant factors that can motivate developers to propose actions. Finally, we discuss necessary features for the governance framework from viewpoints of (1) motivation of developers, (2) individual sense of value, (3) skill and competency, and (4) characteristics, quantity, and deadline.