Building of tools---from simple prototypes to industrial-strength??applications---is a pervasive activity in academic research. When??proposing a new technique for software maintenance, effective tool??support is typically required to demonstrate the feasibility and??effectiveness of the approach. However, even though tool building is??both pervasive and requiring significant time and effort, it is??still pursued in an ad hoc manner. In fact, little research has??addressed the question how to make tool building in academia more??disciplined, predictable and efficient.??In this paper, we address these issues by proposing a dedicated??development process for tool building that takes the unique??characteristics of an academic research environment into account. We??first identify process requirements based on a review of the??literature and our extensive tool building experience in the domain??of maintenance tools. We then outline a process framework based on??work products that accommodates the requirements while providing??needed flexibility for tailoring the process to account for specific??tool building approaches and project constraints. The work products??are concrete milestones of the process, tracking progress,??rationalizing (design) decisions, and documenting the current state??of the tool building project. Thus, the work products provide??important input for strategic project decisions and rapid initiation??of new team members.??Leveraging a dedicated tool building process promises tools that are??designed, build, and maintained in a more disciplined, predictable??and efficient manner.