Collabra: A framework for cooperative Software Maintenance

Software Maintenance is a complex activity especially when performed by geographically distributed teams for long running projects or products spanning multiple versions. Additional factors such as attrition and outsourcing make it extremely challenging for software maintenance teams to meet quality requirements and ensure customer satisfaction. Even with the adoption of process-oriented approaches such as the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) along with MIS systems the challenges in software maintenance are not completely alleviated. This paper presents a framework for an intelligent collaborative environment - Collabra that supports smarter software maintenance. Built over existing configuration management tools like Clear Case and utilizing information from the bug and patch delivery databases, Collabra attempts to codify expert knowledge within the team. It also facilitates greater information sharing by organizing the team into a peer-to-peer content sharing network enabling greater collaboration. Collabra can greatly reduce the turnaround time for software maintenance activities by ensuring availability of the relevant information to the team members in a seamless manner.