Design rationale for software maintenance

Abstract

For a number of years, members of the artificial intelligence (AI) in design community have studied design rationale (DR), the reasons behind decisions made while designing. A record of what decisions were made, and why, is especially valuable for software maintenance. One reason for this is that the software lifecycle is a long one. Large projects may take years to complete and spend even more time out in the field being used (and maintained). The combination of a long lifecycle and the typically high personnel turnover in the software industry increases the probability that the original designer is unlikely to be available for consultation when problems arise. J. Lee's survey (1997) presents an excellent overview of DR research. There has also been work specific to software design, such as Boehm's WinWin (1994).