Software ontology design to support organized open source software development

Abstract

In the field of software engineering, a very old and important issue is how to understand the software. Understanding software means more than understanding the source code; it also refers to the other facts related to that particular software. Sometimes even experienced developers can be overwhelmed by a project's extensive development capabilities. In the development process, project leaders (PLs) have overall knowledge about the project and are keenly aware of its vision. Other members have only partial knowledge of the functions assigned to them. In this research, we propose a model to design ontology to support software comprehension and handle issues of knowledge management throughout the development process. By applying our methodology, understanding software and managing knowledge can become possible in a systematic way for open source and commercial projects. Furthermore, it will help beginners become more involved in a project and contribute to it in a productive way.