A Case Study of Feature Location in an Open Source Embedded System

Abstract

In this master thesis, we conducted a case study to look for effective methodologies of feature location in software maintenance. We started with domain study and analysis on the target subject to obtain first hand knowledge and background information about the system. Later we came up with two methodologies that could be systematically applied to the chosen subject to identify and locate features. The methodologies were named as Release Log and Source Code methodology since these were the artifacts where the feature are identified from. The methods were applied to the system, and we found totally 44 features including both mandatory and optional features. Our methods could also be applied to other systems with similar development process. Finally we also measured the characteristics of the features found using some metrics, the results also showed positive correlations between several pairs of measurement metrics.