Performance Analysis of Machine Learning Techniques on Software Defect Prediction using NASA Datasets

Abstract

Defect prediction at early stages of software development life cycle is a crucial activity of quality assurance process and has been broadly studied in the last two decades. The early prediction of defective modules in developing software can help the development team to utilize the available resources efficiently and effectively to deliver high quality software product in limited time. Until now, many researchers have developed defect prediction models by using machine learning and statistical techniques. Machine learning approach is an effective way to identify the defective modules, which works by extracting the hidden patterns among software attributes. In this study, several machine learning classification techniques are used to predict the software defects in twelve widely used NASA datasets. The classification techniques include: Naive Bayes (NB), Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP). Radial Basis Function (RBF), Support Vector Machine (SVM), K Nearest Neighbor (KNN), kStar (K*), One Rule (OneR), PART, Decision Tree (DT), and Random Forest (RF). Performance of used classification techniques is evaluated by using various measures such as: Precision, Recall, F-Measure, Accuracy, MCC, and ROC Area. The detailed results in this research can be used as a baseline for other researches so that any claim regarding the improvement in prediction through any new technique, model or framework can be compared and verified.