Detection of fault-prone program modules in a very large telecommunications system

Abstract

Telecommunications software is known for its high reliability. Society has become so accustomed to reliable telecommunications, that failures can cause major disruptions. This is an experience report on application of discriminant analysis based on 20 static software product metrics, to identify fault prone modules in a large telecommunications system, so that reliability may be improved. We analyzed a sample of 2000 modules representing about 1.3 million lines of code, drawn from a much larger system. Sample modules were randomly divided into a fit data set and a test data set. We simulated utilization of the fitted model with the test data set. We found that identifying new modules and changed modules mere significant components of the discriminant model, and improved its performance. The results demonstrate that data on module reuse is a valuable input to quality models and that discriminant analysis can be a useful tool in early identification of fault prone software modules in large telecommunications systems. Model results could be used to identify those modules that would probably benefit from extra attention, and thus, reduce the risk of unexpected problems with those modules.