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Popularity bias in bug datasets
In recent times, the replicability of Software Engineering empirical studies has become a main concern in the research community. One way to achieve replicability is by reusing datasets, so everybody base their results on the same data. However, if these datasets contain any kind of problem, they could cause more harm than benefits.

In the case of software defects, there are datasets that are known to contain bias, mainly when referencing a fix to a particular bug report.

We have studied a different kind of bias: popularity bias. A software project with less bugs is of higher quality. However, in open source software development, more bugs may mean more quality. Why? Because more found bugs imply more people looking for those bugs. This is, if you have no bugs it is because nobody is using your software and reporting them. If you have more bugs, it is because your software is popular; should your software be less popular, the number of bugs would be lower. We have studied this effect in the case of Debian, using the Ultimate Debian Database, and we indeed find that only very popular Debian packages will present a very high number of bugs, and that non-popular packages get very few bug reports.

If you want to know more, read our WCRE 2011 paper, entitled "Impact of Installation Counts on Perceived Quality: A Case Study on Debian". A tag cloud of the contents of the paper:

age analysis binary case data days debian defects developers different distribution engineering fixed groups higher installations number open packages popularity quality recent relationship reported shows software source study system users
created at TagCrowd.com

To cite this paper, there is a BibTeX file available, or you can copy from below
```
@InProceedings{debian_wcre2011,
  author =       {Israel Herraiz and Emad Shihab and Thanh H.D. Nguyen and Ahmed E. Hassan},
  title =        {Impact of Installation Counts on Perceived Quality: A Case Study on {D}ebian},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the 18th Working Conference on Reverse Engineering},
  year =         {2011},
  publisher = {IEEE Computer Society},
}
```
Written on Nov 01 2011 | Comments »
IJSODIT - Call for papers 2012
The International Journal of Social and Organizational Dynamics in Information Technology (IJSODIT) calls for papers for its 2012 issues.

The mission of this journal relates to social issues in information technology. Social issues are those research topics most aligned with the human factor in terms of information systems planning, development and utilization. This journal includes all aspects of social issues that are impacted by information technology affecting organizations and interorganizational structures. This includes the conceptualization of specific social issues and their associated constructs, proposed designs and infrastructures, empirical validation of social models, and case studies illustrating socialization success and failures. Some key topics may include:
1. Ethics
2. Culture
3. Relationships
4. Human interaction
5. Security
6. Design
7. Building relationships
8. Diversity in the IT workforce
This journal follows a full blind peer review process.

More details about the call for papers.
Written on Sep 29 2011 | Comments »
The interplay between businesses and open source
This month, the IEEE Software magazine comes with an interesting article about the impact and possibilities of different open source licenses on business models. The paper is available at the IEEE Digital library: Matching Open Source Software Licenses with Corresponding Business Models. From the abstract:
```
Scores of software producers have turned toward open source licenses
to improve service for their customers. For these companies, choosing
the correct license determines business success. When the available
open source stack and licensing options grow, so does the need to
understand the interplay among licensing, sourcing decisions, and
business goals. A model of license choice emphasizes different
licenses and rationalizes the choice of an open source software (OSS)
license. This is crucial for smaller companies and start-ups that
don't have the tools and knowledge to perform a thorough investigation
of all the consequences of their license choice every time they employ
OSS.
```
Furthermore, the Computer magazine also brings an interesting article about how to manage open source projects, from a point of view of a software firm. It is also available in the IEEE Digital library: Controlling and Steering Open Source Projects.

Please bear in mind that the IEEE Digital library is a paywall. Send me a message if you want to have a look; I can send you a copy if you cannot access the papers.
Written on Sep 08 2011 | Comments »

herraiz.org | Blog

Popularity bias in bug datasets

IJSODIT - Call for papers 2012

The interplay between businesses and open source

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