Carolyn Seaman, IS Department Associate Professor received a new research grant, which became effective August 2009, from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The total amount of the grant is approximately $500,000 over 3 years. Dr. Seaman explains, “The objective of the project is to help software development organizations better manage the long-term maintenance of large software systems by formalizing the concept of ‘technical debt’—a metaphor that focuses on the common practice of delaying, or shortcutting, certain types of software maintenance tasks in order to improve short-term productivity, but which will compromise quality in the long run if delayed indefinitely.” Dr. Seaman explained that such delayed tasks include documenting changes to the system, fully testing changes, taking care to maintain the architectural design integrity of the system while making changes, augmentations, and similar processes.
