Abstract
When designing software for evolvability, it is important
to understand which particular designs have worked in the
past – and which have not. This paper argues that understanding
the history of a software innovation is valuable in setting the
context for future innovations. There is no formal discipline
of software history. While there is an active body of research
in information technology (IT) and innovation management,
which seeks to understand how to maximize value from IT
spending, this research often ignores the meaningful technological
underpinnings of such tools. We suggest that the study of design
history should be extended to software artifacts. The paper
introduces notions like requirements analysis, technology context,
and social context to explain how, and why, certain technologies
evolved as they did. We apply these concepts to the history of
distributed computing protocols. We conclude with observations
drawn from this history that suggest designing software for
evolvability must consider the history of similar applications in
the requirements analysis.
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