Beyond Patchwork: Why Software Engineering Research Needs a Systems Reset
A new review argues that incremental improvements to software engineering research are failing to address fundamental problems within the field’s evaluation and publication practices.

![The analysis of AAPL stock between March 19, 2008, and April 22, 2024, reveals the interplay between estimated volatility [latex]\mu_{i,t}[/latex] and its idiosyncratic component [latex]exp(\varsigma_{i,t})[/latex], suggesting inherent instability within the asset's price dynamics.](https://arxiv.org/html/2601.16837v1/x31.png)



![The Fission-GRPO framework operates through iterative refinement-initially optimizing a policy [latex]\pi_{\theta}[/latex] across a query distribution [latex]\mathcal{D}[/latex], then isolating error trajectories via a diagnostic simulator [latex]\mathcal{S}_{\phi}[/latex], and finally employing a multiplicative resampling process-governed by a factor [latex]G^{\prime}[/latex]-to steer the policy toward successful recovery paths, embodying a system designed not to prevent decay, but to adaptively reconfigure itself within it.](https://arxiv.org/html/2601.15625v1/x2.png)