Programmer-based fault prediction

Background: Previous research has provided evidence that a combination of static code metrics and software history metrics can be used to predict with surprising success which files in the next release of a large system will have the largest numbers of defects. In contrast, very little research exists to indicate whether information about individual developers can profitably be used to improve predictions. Aims: We investigate whether files in a large system that are modified by an individual developer consistently contain either more or fewer faults than the average of all files in the system. The goal of the investigation is to determine whether information about which particular developer modified a file is able to improve defect predictions. We also continue an earlier study to evaluate the use of counts of the number of developers who modified a file as predictors of the file's future faultiness. Method: We analyzed change reports filed by 107 programmers for 16 releases of ...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: PROMISE
• Authors: Thomas J. Ostrand, Elaine J. Weyuker, Robert M. Bell
• Keywords: Individual Developer, PROMISE 2010, Software Engineering, Software History Metrics, Static Code Metrics