Software Architecture Lifetime Estimation via Diagnosed Age
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing software quality assessment techniques fail to account for long-term changes in software quality, making it difficult for developers to determine the lifespan of software assets and create effective development project guidelines.
Innovation Solution
An architecture lifetime estimation apparatus that calculates the complexity of source code over multiple revisions, using a diagnosed age metric to estimate the software's lifetime based on accumulated data, allowing for informed project planning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If software structure is simplified through analysis, then software quality (usability, maintainability, portability) is improved, but the complexity of analysis and measurement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual software structure analysis with an automated analysis apparatus that uses computer algorithms to calculate dependency strength and visualize software quality. The system automatically processes source code, performs dependency analysis, and generates visualizations without requiring manual intervention, thus improving software quality assessment while avoiding the complexity burden of manual analysis.
2Measurement precision
If dependency strength is calculated using weight information, then visualization accuracy is improved, but calculation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces weight information as a parameter to quantify the importance of different dependency types. By assigning numerical weights to various dependency relationships (e.g., inheritance, composition, aggregation), the system transforms qualitative dependency relationships into quantifiable metrics. This parameter-based approach improves measurement precision while keeping calculations manageable through standardized weight assignments.
3Productivity
If software quality is assessed at a single point in time, then assessment speed is improved, but the ability to track long-term quality changes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables continuous software quality assessment by integrating the analysis apparatus into the software development lifecycle. The system can repeatedly analyze software at different stages (development, testing, maintenance) and track quality metrics over time. This continuous assessment approach maintains high productivity through automated analysis while preserving quality evolution information through repeated measurements and historical tracking.
Data Source
AI summary
The object is to provide a technique for enabling one to appropriately draw up a guideline for a development project. An architecture lifetime estimation apparatus includes: an age calculator to calculate a diagnosed age of a source code based on software quality data values; a data accumulation unit to accumulate the diagnosed age for each of revisions of the source code; a development trend approximate expression calculator to calculate a development trend approximate expression based on the diagnosed age accumulated by the data accumulation unit for each of the revisions; and a lifetime estimation unit to estimate a lifetime of the source code based on the development trend approximate expression.