Developing support agents for software maintenance: a practical approach

The authors present an approach for developing machine-based support agents that are capable of assisting in routine software maintenance. The approach consists of developing generic procedures for implementing primitive modifications that are relevant to software applications, developing a framework for categorizing maintenance activities in terms of such primitive modifications, and using these procedures in the development of support agents for maintenance. The approach is illustrated through a working prototype called KAMA (knowledge-based application management agent). The approach is discussed in the context of other approaches to similar machine-based systems