Journal profile · Computer Science, Software Engineering
Journal of Software Maintenance and Evolution Research and Practice
ISSN 1532-060X · ENGLAND · Bimonthly
Journal of Software Maintenance and Evolution Research and Practice: impact factor 1.6 (journal website); subscription journal; review about 247 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); community-reported acceptance: easy; 0 articles in 2025.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, Journal of Software Maintenance and Evolution Research and Practice's largest topics are Software Engineering Research, Software Engineering Techniques and Practices and Advanced Software Engineering Methodologies, together about 55.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are Software. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of Software: Evolution and Process is an archival journal that publishes high quality, state-of-the-art research and practice papers dealing with the conception, development, testing, management, quality, maintenance, and evolution of software, systems, and services, as well as the continuous improvement of processes and capabilities surrounding them. The journal continues the tradition of The Journal of Software Maintenance and Evolution: Research and Practice and Software Process: Improvements and Practice. We will therefore continue to cover the traditional topics related to software maintenance and evolution as well as software process improvement and practice. At the same time, the concept behind the journal has evolved into a unified vision that recognizes the fundamental changes and transformations that are occurring in the fields of software and systems engineering and the need for us to adapt by broadening the topics that we address and the research methods that are used coupled with the perspectives that are utilised. Fundamental changes are occurring in the variety, scale and scope of software, systems and services that are being developed from new web and mobile computing to battle theatre technologies and everything in between. Areas of interest include but are not limited to: How software, systems and enabled services are conceived, justified, created, managed, maintained and evolved over time How new underlying technologies (which are constantly changing) can be elegantly integrated and dealt with as systems evolve over time How new platforms and architectures are developed, tested, modified, and evolved to create the variety of applications needed now, and in the future How new processes and tools can be utilised in all phases of the development lifecycle (from system concept to test) in order to conceive, justify, create, modify and evolve these new technologies, platforms, systems and services How high-level representations of existing software, systems and services can be reverse engineered and used to support maintenance and evolution How people issues regarding cross disciplinary or geographically dispersed virtual teams can be addressed How the skill sets needed to participate and manage these projects will be developed How globally dispersed projects should be managed How new models of collaboration and participation will be deployed and managed What models will be used to estimate costs and predict performance of project
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Computer Science, Software Engineering
Editorial board by country: 17 in mainland China (about 25%); most named Mainland China 17, United States 11, Italy 10, Canada 4, Singapore 4 (67 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Software Engineering ResearchComputer Science22.9%
- Software Engineering Techniques and PracticesComputer Science17.1%
- Advanced Software Engineering MethodologiesComputer Science15.8%
- Physical Education and Sports StudiesSocial Sciences7.8%
- Model-Driven Software Engineering TechniquesComputer Science5.4%
- Sports, Gender, and SocietySocial Sciences3.8%
- Software Testing and Debugging TechniquesComputer Science3.3%
- Sports Analytics and PerformanceEconomics, Econometrics and Finance3.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
Indexed in: no record yet.
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexSCIEWeb of ScienceScopusINSPECDBLPCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 4.7Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 51OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 195OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 90Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 145,222Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 506 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 0 | 0 | 112 |
| 2025 | 0 | 0 | 172 |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | 193 |
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | 241 |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | 235 |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 323 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
247 dayssubmission to acceptance · community reports about 9 months
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 9 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 12%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 28 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 247 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 26 daysPublisher website ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Subscription journalLetPub
A subscription journal: articles are read by subscription or purchase, and authors usually pay no publication charge.
No source has fee information yet; check the journal's website.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 200 words
- Keywords
- ≤ 6
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Graphical abstract
- Required
Article types accepted7
- analyticalAnalytical: A paper in which the main contribution relies on new algorithms or mathematical theory.Length not stated
- case studyAt the time of submission, authors should select one of the following manuscript types to describe their paper: Analytical: A paper in which the main contributi…Length not stated
- empiricalEmpirical: A paper in which the main contribution is the empirical study of a software engineering technology or phenomenon.Length not stated
- methodologicalMethodological: A paper in which the main contribution is a coherent system of broad principles and practices to interpret or solve a problem.Length not stated
- practicePractice: A paper presented as a practitioner paper or an experience report.Length not stated
- surveyAt the time of submission, authors should select one of the following manuscript types to describe their paper: Analytical: A paper in which the main contributi…Length not stated
- technologicalTechnological: A paper in which the main contribution is of a technical nature.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteData availability, License & copyright, Open access, Preprints
- Data availability
Data sharing policy: expects authors to share data and other artefacts supporting results by archiving in an appropriate public repository, with a data accessibility statement. Model summary
The journal expects authors to share the data and other artefacts supporting the results in the paper by archiving it in an appropriate public repository.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright COPYRIGHT AND PERMISSIONS
If your paper is accepted, the author identified as the formal corresponding author for the paper will receive an email prompting them to login into Author Services; where via the Wiley Author Licensing Service (WALS) they will be able to complete the license agreement on behalf of all authors on the paper. For authors signing the copyright transfer agreement If the Open Access option is not selec…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access For authors choosing Open Access
Free format submission offered for simplified submission. Model summary
If the Open Access option is selected the corresponding author will have a choice of the following Creative Commons License Open Access Agreements (OAA):
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint policy
Preprint policy: considers articles previously available as preprints on non-commercial servers; authors may post submitted version to non-commercial servers at any time. Model summary
Wiley believes that journal publishing for communities with established pre-print servers should allow authors to submit manuscripts that have already been made available on a non-commercial preprint server. Allowing submission does not, of course, guarantee that an article will be sent out for review. It simply reflects our belief that journals should not rule out reviewing a paper simply because…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- ISSN
- 1532-060X
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 38, Issue 9 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Software Maintenance and Evolution Research and Practice
What is the impact factor of Journal of Software Maintenance and Evolution Research and Practice?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1.6 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; h-index 51.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Software Maintenance and Evolution Research and Practice?
The publisher reports about 247 days (submission to acceptance); authors report an average review time of about 9 months; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 12% (2025). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Journal of Software Maintenance and Evolution Research and Practice?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 200 words; Keywords: ≤ 6; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Graphical abstract: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Software Maintenance and Evolution Research and Practice based?
Of the 67 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 17 (about 25%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (17), United States (11) and Italy (10). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Software Maintenance and Evolution Research and Practice?
The journal's website lists EI Compendex, SCIE, Web of Science, Scopus, INSPEC, DBLP and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Software Maintenance and Evolution Research and Practice open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Software Maintenance and Evolution Research and Practice is a subscription journal. Fee information is not available yet; check the journal's website.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .