This paper discusses the characteristics that should be offered b y PSEEs (Process-centered Software Engineering Environments) to support the evolution of the software process. A PSEE is a software engineering environment based on the explicit representation of the software process (the process model). Processes and process models are dynamic entities that need t o evolve. Existing PSEEs o f e r limited capabilities to support process evolution. To address this issue, it is necessary t o extend

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... PSEEs with features that enable the process manager t o effectively and consistently change the process. The design of these functionalities must be guided b y a clear characteritation of the evolution problem. In particular, it as necessary to understand what kinds of services a PSEE should off e r as built-in mechanisms, and what kinds of functionalities have to be implemented by the process modeler as process-specific policies. KEYWORDS: software process, process modeling language (PML), processcentered software engineering environment (PSEE) , process evolution, change.