Analysing problem handling schemes in software projects

Abstract

ContextAlthough many papers have been published on software development and maintenance processes, there is still a need for deeper exploration of software repositories related to real projects to evaluate these processes. ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to present and evaluate different schemes of handling problems (bugs) during software development and maintenance. It is based on exploring information comprised in various software repositories. MethodHaving analysed the contents of software repositories we have introduced a graph model describing problem handling processes and a scheme of analysing the effectiveness of these processes. This analysis is targeted at structural, throughput and timing aspects. The presented methodology has been verified on real data comprised in open source and commercial projects. Moreover, having identified some drawbacks and anomalies, we point out possible improvements in problem reports and their management. ResultsDetailed software repositories provide a wider scope of possible measures to assess the relevant problem handling processes. This is helpful in controlling single projects (local perspective) as well as in managing these processes in the whole company (global perspective). ConclusionDetailed problem handling reports extend the space and quality of statistical analysis, the presented graph model with proposed metrics provides a useful tool to evaluate and refine problem resolution schemes.