An Approach to System Dynamics Modelling of Aspects of the Global Software Process Running Title: System Dynamics of Global Software Process Aspects

This paper describes one of the latest in a series of system dynamics models developed during the FEAST (Feedback, Evolution And Software Technology) investigation into software evolution processes. The intention of early models was to simulate real-world processes in order to increase understanding of such processes. The work resulted in a number of lessons learnt, in particular, with regard to the application of system dynamics to the simulation of key attributes of long-term software evolution. The work reported here combines elements of previous work and extends them by describing an approach to investigate the consequences on long-term evolution, of decisions made by the managers of these processes. The approach is illustrated by discussion of a model developed using the Vensim tool. This model of the impact on product and global process attributes of decisions regarding the fraction of work applied to progressive and to anti-regressive activities such as complexity control, for instance, exemplifies the results of the FEAST investigation.