The Impact of Code Readability on Software Maintenance efficiency in open source development

Abstract

The effectiveness of software maintenance is greatly influenced by code readability, especially in open-source development, where several developers work together on lengthy projects. Code readability's effects on software debugging effectiveness, refactoring success, feature enhancement speed, developer collaboration, issue resolution rate, and long-term maintainability are investigated in this study. A Multiple regression analysis was used in a quantitative research technique to assess the connection between software sustainability and readability. According to the results, code readability helps to explain 58.2% of the variance (R2 = 0.582, p <.001) in software maintenance efficiency by improving debugging efficiency (β = 0.523, p <.001), refactoring success (β = 0.498, p <.001), and feature enhancement speed (β = 0.467, p <.001). Additionally, 60.5% of the variance (R2 = 0.605, p <.001) in software sustainability was explained by positive effects on developer cooperation (β = 0.534, p <.001), problem resolution rate (β = 0.502, p <.001), and long-term maintainability (β = 0.478, p <.001). These results highlight the need to improve the quality of open-source software by using standardized coding procedures, automated readability tools, and collaborative development methodologies. To maximize software maintainability and long-term usability, the research suggests incorporating readability measures into software assessment frameworks, upholding coding standards, and encouraging peer review procedures.