An empirical investigation of defect management in free/open source software projects

Abstract

Free/Open Source software (F/OSS) is a novel way of developing and deploying software systems on a global basis. Collaborative efforts of developers and users towards identifying and correcting defects as well as requesting and enhancing features form the major foundation of this innovative model. An empirical study using questionnaire survey has been conducted among F/OSS developers to gain an insight of defect management among various F/OSS projects. The present paper focuses on exploring extent of use of defect tracking systems among F/OSS projects and evaluating the perception of F/OSS developers about effectiveness of user participation and efficiency of defect resolution. The findings indicate that the defect management activities significantly vary among F/OSS projects depending on project size, type of user participation and severity of defects. The findings of the present study can help in future to determine the impact of such variations in defect management on overall quality of F/OSS products by using defect data extracted from publicly accessible F/OSS repository. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008.