Does Bug Prediction Support Human Developers? Findings from a Google Case Study
Venue
International Conference on Software Engineering
(ICSE)(2013)
Publication Year
2013
Authors
Chris Lewis, Zhongpeng Lin, Caitlin Sadowski, Xiaoyan Zhu, Rong Ou, E. James Whitehead Jr.
BibTeX
Abstract
While many bug prediction algorithms have been developed by academia, they're often
only tested and verified in the lab using automated means. We do not have a strong
idea about whether such algorithms are useful to guide human developers. We
deployed a bug prediction algorithm across Google, and found no identifiable change
in developer behavior. Using our experience, we provide several characteristics
that bug prediction algorithms need to meet in order to be accepted by human
developers and truly change how developers evaluate their code.