Characterizing the software development process: A new approach based on kolmogorov complexity

Abstract

Our main aim is to propose a new characterization for the software development process. We suggest that software development methodology has some limits. These limits are a clue that software development process is more subjective and empirical than objective and formal. We use Kolmogorov complexity to develop the formal argument and to outline the informal conclusions. Kolmogorov complexity is based on the size in bits of the smallest effective description of an object and is a suitable quantitative measure of the object's information content. We try to show that notion of complexity is a suitable measure and a tool for the characterization of the software development process. Followingthe paper conclusions, the limits of formal methods typifies the software development process as experimental and heuristical based, like, for example, the scientific development in physics and chemistry. Moreover, by our approach, we argue that software development is, in some sense, formally unpredictable. These conclusions suggest that software engineering is a scientific field not totally characterized by the typical work of engineering, but also by the experimental sciences methodology. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.