Are fix-inducing changes a moving target?: a longitudinal case study of just-in-time defect prediction

Abstract

Change-level defect prediction [5], a.k.a., Just-In-Time (JIT) defect prediction [1], is an alternative to module-level defect prediction that offers several advantages. First, since code changes are often smaller than modules (e.g., classes), JIT predictions are made at a finer granularity, which localizes the inspection process. Second, while modules have a group of authors, changes have only one, which makes triaging JIT predictions easier. Finally, unlike module level prediction, JIT models can scan changes as they are being produced, which means that problems can be investigated while design decisions are still fresh in the developers' minds.