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A common remedy is code refactoring, which reduces complexity and improves maintainability, though often seen as costly and risky.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We investigate the long-term effects of refactoring to provide recommendations that support strategic development decisions.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Method<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We assess refactoring impact through change- and defect-proneness analysis, as well as benefit\/effort evaluation.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Most refactorings have short-lived effects, persisting for fewer than 10 changes. Structural refactorings may last over 190 changes, with significant differences across families. Medium-lived refactorings (9\u201319 changes) prove the most stable and efficient, while longer-lasting ones become increasingly defect-prone and costly.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Refactorings differ in sustainability. Medium-duration refactorings strike the best balance between stability and maintenance cost, while structural ones, though impactful, pose higher long-term risks. These insights guide prioritization of refactoring types to maximize benefit and minimize technical debt.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1007\/s10664-025-10801-3","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,7]],"date-time":"2026-05-07T10:53:43Z","timestamp":1778151223000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Analyzing the ripple effects of refactoring"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"31","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-9870-1504","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mikel","family":"Robredo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8451-3668","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Matteo","family":"Esposito","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9337-5116","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fabio","family":"Palomba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2693-5790","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rafael","family":"Pe\u00f1aloza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0511-5133","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Valentina","family":"Lenarduzzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,7]]},"reference":[{"issue":"3","key":"10801_CR1","first-page":"864","volume":"48","author":"C Abid","year":"2020","unstructured":"Abid C, Kessentini M, Alizadeh V, Dhaouadi M, Kazman R (2020) How does refactoring impact security when improving quality? a security-aware refactoring approach. 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