Beyond fixing bugs: Case studies of creative collaboration in open source software bug fixing processes

Jing Wang, John M. Carroll

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Bug fixing is an important collaborative practice of open source software development. Creative collaborative bug fixing-collectively generating new and useful solutions to improve software quality-is important especially when bugs are difficult to fix. We find bug fixing practices are unavoidably creative by studying Mozilla and Python. We characterize their bug fixing process as four common subprocesses, problem identification, preparation, solution generation, and solution evaluation. We discuss the key challenges of creative collaboration during each subprocess, and recommend design implications to enhance creative collaborative bug fixing processes, including support for establishment of common ground, externalization of social networks, awareness of resolving progress, and articulation of design rationale.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationC and C 2011 - Proceedings of the 8th ACM Conference on Creativity and Cognition
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery, Inc
Pages397-398
Number of pages2
ISBN (Electronic)9781450308205
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 3 2011
Event8th ACM Conference on Creativity and Cognition, C and C 2011 - Atlanta, United States
Duration: Nov 3 2011Nov 6 2011

Publication series

NameC and C 2011 - Proceedings of the 8th ACM Conference on Creativity and Cognition

Other

Other8th ACM Conference on Creativity and Cognition, C and C 2011
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityAtlanta
Period11/3/1111/6/11

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Software

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