Understanding and Supporting Information Needs of Software Development Tasks

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The goal of this research program is to improve the bug report triage process. Bug report triage is the process by which bug reports submitted to a software project's “bug tracker”, or issue tracking system (ITS), are examined to decide what to do with the report. For example, a report may be examined to determine if the problem described is already reported, if the problem is reproducible, or if the part of the software reported to be affected by the problem is correct. In cases where the problem needs to be fixed, the triager decides who will fix the bug. ******When a triager performs triage, they search for information to make their decisions. Examples of such information includes: recently submitted or changed reports, duplicate reports, active development areas of the code, and developer workload. The general theme is that of filtering and grouping bug reports. Although the ITS commonly provides a means for searching bug report fields, evidence suggests that this is not enough for both triagers and developers. Existing search capabilities that provide results as a list do not show how reports are interrelated; information needed to make duplicate or assignment decisions. ******This research program will conduct a larger study of triage practices and information needs than has been previously done. Based on this information, software will be developed that assists in creating and configuring recommenders that make it more efficient for triagers to do their tasks. Examples of such recommenders are ones that suggest which developer should fix a bug and which part of the software a bug report is describing. ******These tools will allow triagers to be more efficient, which in turn can reduce software maintenance costs and improve software product quality. Reducing maintenance costs will allow Canadian software companies to make better use of their existing resources which will encourage growth, and improved software quality can give Canadian software companies a competitive edge in the global economy.******More generally, by expanding our knowledge of current triage practices, Canadian software tool development companies and researchers will be better able to understand triagers' needs and practices. Also, triagers benefit by having tools that reduce their workload so they can focus on tasks that improve the software product, rather than being overwhelmed by the number of incoming bug reports. Researchers benefit from tools that allow them to better replicate previous research results. Beyond bug report triage, knowledge of how to assist in recommender creation and presentation of recommendations to software developers will inform improvements for other types of software engineering recommender systems.