THE IMPACTS OF REUSE AND DEVELOPMENT VOLATILITY ON SOFTWARE DEFECTS

摘要

This study explores the impact of software reuse and volatile development environments on software defects. We conducted statistical analyses at the subprogram level to relate software complexity, type of reuse, and non-defect changes to software defects. A parameterized composite complexity variable incorporating these features was developed and we estimated its parameters using an ordinal response model. Notable results from the analysis are that extensively modified reused subprograms (>25% changed) have substantially more defects than new code of otherwise comparable characteristics and that software development environment volatility (as measured by non-defect changes per thousand source lines of code) is a strong determinant of subprogram defects.