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The broken windows ...
The broken windows theory applies to technical debt
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Levén, William (författare)
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Broman, Hampus (författare)
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Besker, Terese (författare)
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- Torkar, Richard, 1971 (författare)
- Gothenburg University,Göteborgs universitet,Institutionen för data- och informationsteknik, Software Engineering (GU),Institutionen för data- och informationsteknik, Software Engineering (GU)
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(creator_code:org_t)
- 2024
- 2024
- Engelska.
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Ingår i: Empirical Software Engineering. - 1382-3256.
- Relaterad länk:
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https://gup.ub.gu.se...
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https://doi.org/10.1...
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Abstract
Ämnesord
Stäng
- Context: The term technical debt (TD) describes the aggregation of sub-optimal solutions that serve to impede the evolution and maintenance of a system. Some claim that the broken windows theory (BWT), a concept borrowed from criminology, also applies to software development projects. The theory states that the presence of indications of previous crime (such as a broken window) will increase the likelihood of further criminal activity; TD could be considered the broken windows of software systems. Objective: To empirically investigate the causal relationship between the TD density of a system and the propensity of developers to introduce new TD during the extension of that system. Method: The study used a mixed-methods research strategy consisting of a con- trolled experiment with an accompanying survey and follow-up interviews. The experiment had a total of 29 developers of varying experience levels completing system extension tasks in already existing systems with high or low TD density. Results: The analysis revealed significant effects of TD level on the subjects’ tendency to re-implement (rather than reuse) functionality, choose non-descriptive variable names, and introduce other code smells identified by the software tool SonarQube, all with at least 95% credible intervals. Conclusions: Three separate significant results along with a validating qualitative result combine to form substantial evidence of the BWT’s existence in software engineering contexts. This study finds that existing TD can have a major impact on developers propensity to introduce new TD of various types during development.
Ämnesord
- NATURVETENSKAP -- Data- och informationsvetenskap -- Programvaruteknik (hsv//swe)
- NATURAL SCIENCES -- Computer and Information Sciences -- Software Engineering (hsv//eng)
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