Evolution patterns of software-architecture smells: An empirical study of intra- and inter-version smells

Philipp Gnoyke, Sandro Schulze, Jacob Krüger

Abstract: Highlights•Cyclic dependency merges raise overall complexity and contribute to large instances.•Cyclic dependency merges often lead to multi-hubs, while splits do not resolve them .•Extreme cyclic dependencies arise over time; unstable dependencies grow steadily.•Architectural issues do not show a general compound interest effect when normalized.