Software — Evolution

First formulated by Meir Lehman in the 1970s, these "laws" describe the fundamental behavior of large software systems over time:

Rules and Tools for Software Evolution Planning and Management Software Evolution

Software evolution is the ongoing process of developing and continuously updating software after its initial release to ensure it remains useful, secure, and aligned with user needs. Organizations often invest significantly more in evolving existing systems than in developing new ones, as software must adapt to changing business environments, new hardware, and emerging technologies. First formulated by Meir Lehman in the 1970s,

: An iterative phase where updates are designed, coded, and tested before being released to users. Lehman’s Laws of Software Evolution Lehman’s Laws of Software Evolution : Evaluating how

: Evaluating how proposed changes will affect the system’s performance, architecture, and cost.

: Determining which changes (bug fixes, new features, or adaptations) will be included in the next version.

The evolution cycle is typically triggered by change requests from customers or users. It follows a structured path: