Finding Collaborations based on Co-Changed Files

Abstract

Collaboration is essential in software development, but finding suitable collaborators can be challenging in large projects like open-source ones. In this work, we proposed investigating collaborative development based on similar code interests and tool-supported strategies to help developers find suitable collaborators. Five empirical studies were conducted, including interview and survey studies. Two strategies based on co-changed files and a prototype tool named COOPFINDER were provided and evaluated for their effectiveness. GitHub users and non-users found the strategies and the tool useful. Our results suggest that fostering collaborations in projects can prevent wasted resources and sustain project continuity.