Do metrics help to identify refactoring?

Abstract

Many iterative software development methodologies, such as for example eXtreme Programming, state that refactoring is one of the key activities to be undertaken in order to keep the code-base of a project well-structured and consistent. In such a context, poorly structured code may become a significant obstacle in adding new or in enhancing existing functionality. However, there is some anecdotal evidence that in many software projects, the underlying code-base is not necessarily refactored post-release, often due to time constraints or the misconception that refactoring does not add any apparent value. In order to get further insights into this problem area, we propose to investigate the usage frequency of refactorings in the context of open-source, object-oriented software systems. In this work, we will outline our approach to detecting refactoring and present results obtained from an initial pilot study.