RELATIVE STUDY OF DEPENDENCY MANAGEMENT DURING SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

This research provides a new understanding of the dependencies that exists in software system, and how software developers use practice and technologies to manage them, All software system have dependencies because software modules interact with each other, with documentation , with libraries , and with test suites. Software engineers recognize that these dependencies exists, as technical relationship between the components of the system, and have tried to model them as part of there formal methods and process descriptions. However no studies to date have examined the social aspects of these dependencies, how dependencies within the code, create and reflect social dependencies that exists between developers, teams of programs, and software development organizations. To address this issue I study the role of Software Configuration Management (SCM) practices and tools in the development process. SCM is the discipline of identifying the components of a software system and coordinating there development in order to control the evolution of the whole software system. Recently SCM practices have been embodied into tools that aim to support the development process itself. Using three interpreting studies I detail the different types of dependencies that exist during software development: Why they arise, how they have both technical and social implications, and how developers and managers cope with them. I use the findings from these studies to understand current understanding of how “Groupware” technologies, like SCM systems, support the management of these software dependencies. I also highlight some of the problems in creating representation of dependencies, and consequently the times when SCM systems do not provide the required support to help developers cordite there work. This understanding of how a technology support the management of software dependencies contributes our knowledge about the role of systems in facilitating social processes, as well as opening up new questions about the extent to which that is possible.