Theoretical and empirical studies on essence-based adaptive software engineering

Abstract

The OMG Essence standard was published as the kernel for software engineering methods in 2014. We show that the Essence view of software engineering is reminiscent of a nondeterministic, multidimensional finite state machine, and that the Essence lends support to a semi-Markov decision process model of software engineering which, in practice, facilitates a goal-driven adaptive software engineering. We develop an activity-state mapping algorithm and a goal-activity cover algorithm based on the Essence, which can help automate the health monitoring of project states and the adaptive planning of project activities in a software engineering project. Practical applications of the model and algorithms are illustrated. Benefits to software practitioners of the proposed approach are measured through statistical experiments.