A Framework for the Evolutionary Visual Software Analytics Process

Abstract

Software evolution is made up of changes carried out during software maintenance. Such accumulation of changes produces substantial modifications in software projects and therefore vast amounts of relevant facts that are useful for the understanding and comprehension of the software project for making additional changes. In this scenario, software evolution analysis and software evolution visualization have emerged for aiding software developers and managers. Consequently, the application of visual analytics to software evolution has been an important advancement in the efforts made for assisting the software maintenance community. This paper defines applications of visual analytics as evolutionary visual software analytics and it is aimed to provide a reference framework for researchers in relevant fields, making a special emphasis in the central role played by users. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.