Defect categorization: making use of a decade of widely varying historical data

This paper describes our experience in aggregating a number of historical datasets containing inspection defect data using different categorization schemes. Our goal was to make use of the historical data by creating models to guide future development projects. We describe our approach to reconciling the different choices used in the historical datasets to categorize defects, and the challenges we faced. We also present a set of recommendations for others involved in classifying defects. Categories and Subject Descriptors D.2.0 [Software Engineering]: General General Terms Management, Experimentation. Keywords Defects, historical data, defect categories.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2008
• Where: ESEM
• Authors: Carolyn B. Seaman, Forrest Shull, Myrna Regardie, Denis Elbert, Raimund L. Feldmann, Yuepu Guo, Sally Godfrey
• Keywords: ESEM 2008, Future Development Projects, Historical Datasets, Inspection Defect Data, Software Engineering