Fault-Proneness Prediction of Object-Oriented Classes Using Reusability Measures
Jehad Al Dallal · 2019
Fault-proneness is a key external software-quality attribute of interest for software developers and practitioners. The fault-proneness of an object-oriented class indicates the extent to which the class is prone to faults. Because software engineers cannot measure fault-proneness before they release the software, they apply prediction models to estimate the fault-proneness of the software classes. These models are based on measures that require data that are extracted from design or code artifacts, and therefore, the models are applicable before the software's release date. In this paper, we report an empirical study that explores the ability of models that are based on reusability measures to predict fault-proneness. We considered three reusability measures that account for two reusability aspects: class inheritance and class instantiation. The study involves four open-source Java systems.