Evolving software processes by tailoring the behavior of software objects

Software process evolution corresponds to the act of improving the existing prescriptive software process models in a controlled and supported way. As software processes change constantly, it is therefore necessary to support one or more methods for assisting environment administrators in improving models. Changes are made in order to adapt software process models to new requirements, correct inconsistencies encountered in the course of execution, and modify, add or remove certain constraints. This article shows how software process evolution as supported in Tempo, a process-oriented software engineering environment where software processes are formally described in an object-oriented process schema. In Tempo, a process schema is comprised of descriptions of software agents, software products and software processes. A new approach is presented which supports the dynamic evolution of software process descriptions. In this approach, software process change is the result of tailoring the behavior of software objects manipulated during software process enaction