A Novel Developer Ranking Algorithm for Automatic Bug Triage Using Topic Model and Developer Relations

Abstract

Recently, bug resolution has become a pivotal issue for software maintenance where recommendations for appropriate fixers are an important task. Some approaches (e.g., Social network and machine learning techniques) exist that can achieve automatic bug triage (i.e., Developer recommendation). This paper proposes a new method to recommend the most suitable fixer for bug resolution. Different from previous approaches, the proposed approaches combine topic model and developer relations (e.g., Bug reporter and assignee) to capture developers' interest and experience on specific bug reports, we can arrange for the most appropriate developer to fix a new bug when it comes in. We evaluate the performance of our method using three large-scale open-source projects, including Eclipse, Mozilla Fire fox, and Net beans. The experimental results reveal that our approach outperforms other recommendation methods for developers.