Feedback, evolution and software technology

1970s studies of the evolution of OS/360 and other software systems suggested that E-type software development processes display feedback system like behaviour, develop a controlling dynamics and are subject to a number of laws termed laws of program evolution. Following the 1994 formulation of a FEAST hypothesis that, inter alia, encapsulates these observations, further studies are now underway. These are re-examining the feedback phenomenon and seeking ways to exploit it so as to improve the process of software process improvement. This paper outlines these themes, summarises some preliminary results and introduces a two year funded project FEAST/1 that, in collaboration with industry, will pursue the matter further. FEAST/1 is seen as laying the foundations for a longer term interdisciplinary study which, if the FEAST hypothesis is valid, should have a significant impact on the industrial process of software development while also providing foundations for a theory of software process and software product evolution.