Evaluating a tool for creating bug report assignment recommenders

Abstract

Large software development projects that use bug tracking systems can become overwhelmed by the number of reports filed. To assist in reducing the workload of project members, researchers have proposed the use of bug report assignment recommenders. To assist project members with the creation of assignment recommenders, we proposed a web-based tool called the Creation Assistant for Supporting Triage Recommenders (CASTR). This paper presents the results of both a laboratory and field study of CASTR. We found that CASTR can create assignment recommenders with accuracy as high as 95%, 80%, and 70% for Top-1, Top-3 and Top-5, respectively. The field study showed that 60% of the participants found CASTR easy to use, whereas the remaining participants found CASTR moderately or slightly easy to use.