Software Must Move! A Description of the Software Assembly Line

TL;DR

This paper introduces a set of tools based on a software assembly line model to automate and streamline the development, integration, and maintenance of large-scale software systems, improving efficiency and management.

Contribution

It presents a novel software assembly line framework with specific tools and terminology for automating software development and maintenance processes.

Findings

Enhanced automation of software integration

Improved management of large-scale systems

Clear terminology for software components

Abstract

This paper describes a set of tools for automating and controlling the development and maintenance of software systems. The mental model is a software assembly line. Program design and construction take place at individual programmer workstations. Integration of individual software components takes place at subsequent stations on the assembly line. Software is moved automatically along the assembly line toward final packaging. Software under construction or maintenance is divided into packages. Each package of software is composed of a recipe and ingredients. Some new terms are introduced to describe the ingredients. The recipe specifies how ingredients are transformed into products. The benefits of the Software Assembly Line for development, maintenance, and management of large-scale computer systems are explained.