computer science

Journal of Systems and Software

Journal of Systems and Software is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Journal of Systems and Software rather than just read about it. In short: The Journal of Systems and Software is a computer science journal in the area of software systems, established in 1979 and published by Elsevier. Content and scope The journal publishes research papers, state-of-the-art surveys, and practical experience reports.

Key takeaways

Journal of Systems and Software belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Journal of Systems and Software to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Journal of Systems and Software from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Journal of Systems and Software is a computer science journal in the area of software systems, established in 1979 and published by Elsevier.

Content and scope The journal publishes research papers, state-of-the-art surveys, and practical experience reports. It includes papers covering issues of programming methodology, software engineering, and hardware/software systems. Topics include: "software systems, prototyping issues, high-level specification techniques, procedural and functional programming techniques, data-flow concepts, multiprocessing, real-time, distributed, concurrent, and telecommunications systems, software metrics, reliability models for software, performance issues, and management concerns."

Abstracting and indexing According to the 2021 Journal Citation Reports, the Journal of Systems and Software has an impact factor of 3.514. According to Google Scholar, the journal has an h5-index of 61, which ranks third among international publication venues in software systems, after ICSE and IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering.

Past and present editors-in-chief John Manley and Alan Salisbury (1979–1983) Richard E. Fairley (1984–1985) Robert L. Glass (1986–2001) David N. Card (2002–2008) Hans van Vliet (2009–2017) Paris Avgeriou and David Shepherd (2018–current)

Notable articles A few of the most notable (downloaded) articles are:

Software defect prediction based on enhanced metaheuristic feature selection optimization and a hybrid deep neural network A software engineering perspective on engineering machine learning systems: State of the art and challenges MeTeaM: A method for characterizing mature software metrics teams

Awards The journal presents awards for the Best Papers, the Most Influential Papers (MIPs), and the Editor of the Year. The journal considers all Best Paper awards given in the same year as equally worthy (i.e., not implying any ordering). The Most Influential Paper awards are determined based on citation impact (via Google Scholar) and download metrics over a ten-year window.

2025 Best Paper Awards Ly, D. et al. (2025). "The Power of Words in Agile vs. Waterfall Development: Written Communication in Hybrid Software Teams." Journal of Systems and Software, 219. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2024.112243 Benavides, D. et al. (2025). "UVL: Feature Modelling with the Universal Variability Language." Journal of Systems and Software, 225. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2024.112326 Gustavsson, T. et al. (2025). "Job Satisfaction at Risk: Measuring the Role of Process Debt in Agile Software Development." Journal of Systems and Software, 222. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2025.112350 Witter dos Santos, E., et al. (2025). "Developer Perceptions of Modern Code Review Processes in Practice: Insights from a Case Study in a Mid-Sized Company." Journal of Systems and Software, 222. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2024.112288 Most Influential Papers Gren, L. et al. (2015). "The prospects of a quantitative measurement of agility: A validation study on an agile maturity model." Journal of Systems and Software, 107. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2015.05.008 Editor of the Year Kelly Blincoe

2024 Best Paper Awards Berntsson Svensson, R. et al. (2024). "Not All Requirements Prioritization Criteria are Equal at All Times: A Quantitative Analysis." Journal of Systems and Software, 209. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2023.111909 Serban, A. et al. (2024). "Software engineering practices for machine learning — Adoption, effects, and team assessment." Journal of Systems and Software, 209. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2023.111907 Most Influential Papers Gamalielsson, J. and Lundell, B. (2014). "Sustainability of Open Source software communities beyond a fork: How and why has the LibreOffice project evolved?." Journal of Systems and Software, 89. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2013.11.1077 Editor of the Year Alexander Serebrenik

2023 Best Paper Awards Moradi Dakhel, A. et al. (2023). "GitHub Copilot AI pair programmer: Asset or Liability?" Journal of Systems and Software, 203. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2023.111734 Most Influential Papers Daneva, M. et al. (2013). "Agile requirements prioritization in large-scale outsourced system projects: An empirical study." Journal of Systems and Software, 86. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2012.12.046 Editor of the Year Aldeida Aleti

2022 Best Paper Awards Smite, D. et al. (2022). "Changes in perceived productivity of software engineers during COVID-19 pandemic: The voice of evidence." Journal of Systems and Software, 186. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2021.111197 Myllyaho, L. et al. (2022). "On misbehaviour and fault tolerance in machine learning systems." Journal of Systems and Software, 183. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2021.111096 Mazuera-Rozo, A. et al. (2022). "Taxonomy of security weaknesses in Java and Kotlin Android apps." Journal of Systems and Software, 187. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2022.111233 Most Influential Papers Wang, X. et al. (2012). "“Leagile” software development: An experience report analysis of the application of lean approaches in agile software development." Journal of Systems and Software, 85. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2012.01.061 Strode, D. et al. (2012). "Coordination in co-located agile software development projects." Journal of Systems and Software, 85. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2012.02.017 Ferreira, K. et al. (2012). "Identifying thresholds for object-oriented software metrics." Journal of Systems and Software, 85. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2011.05.044 Editor of the Year Heiko Koziolek

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Journal of Systems and Software

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Journal of Systems and Software claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Journal of Systems and Software before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Journal of Systems and Software ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Journal of Systems and Software

In research: Journal of Systems and Software appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Journal of Systems and Software in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Journal of Systems and Software is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Academic journals established in 1979, Computer science journals, Elsevier academic journals, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Journal of Systems and Software outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Journal of Systems and Software in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Journal of Systems and Software means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Journal of Systems and Software out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Journal of Systems and Software in simple terms?

The Journal of Systems and Software is a computer science journal in the area of software systems, established in 1979 and published by Elsevier. Content and scope The journal publishes research papers, state-of-the-art surveys, and practical experience reports.

Why does Journal of Systems and Software matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Journal of Systems and Software?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Journal of Systems and Software.