Process Refactoring

1
Process Refactoring

• Michael L. Collard, Ph.D.

2
Real World

• Often ad hoc with no process
• Different levels of developers knowledge,
  experience, and capabilities
• Different levels of management knowledge,
  experience, and capabilities
• Stated goals versus reality
• The problems in your work situation are not
  unique

3
To Improve Process

• Massive, all at once changes, will lead to
  failure due to personalities, previous history,
  etc., and are often wrong
• Especially the case for ad-hoc environments
• Incremental changes give entire system (people)
  time to adjust and prepare the way for further
  changes

4
Process Refactoring

• Identify parts of the process that are missing
  look for methods, tools that are being used, but
  not integrated into the process
• Improve that part
• Get the new part integrated into the system
• Allow time for the ramifications to occur (and
  you to get credit)

5
Format Refactoring

• Change to a better format for artifacts
• better in the sense of
• Easier to maintain
• Grows with the project
• Can be used to automatically generate other
  artifacts
• Examples XML, Atom, XHTML formats
• Converters may be needed

6
Forward Engineering Refactoring

• Automatically generate artifacts from other
  artifacts
• E.g., Generate base code from UML design
• Problem Evolution
• Small scale example Generate terms for
  documentation from code

7
Integrate Tool Usage

• Take existing method and support it with new tool
• E.g., writing test cases
• Since method is currently being used, motivation
  to develop/purchase/integrate the tool is there
• Avoid the exercise machine syndrome

8
Version Control Refactoring

• Introduce version control into the system
• Release code from version control
• Versioning applies to any artifact
• Can be done locally by individual developers
  before integrated into overall group

9
Bug Tracking Refactoring

• Put bugs and requests into a bug-tracking system,
  e.g., Trax, Bugzilla
• Could be just a mail archive
• What is the difference between a bug and a new
  feature?
• Recording history of the project is useful for
  later analysis, determining credit, example for
  other projects