In our latest #QAInsights initiative, we described the current state of AI-driven test automation. If you want to review this post, please go to: https://www.resillion.com/latest-news/ai-driven-test-automation/
In the fast-evolving world of software development, the quest for flawless code remains paramount. As we push the boundaries of technology, the complexity of software systems grows, making the task of ensuring their reliability and quality increasingly challenging. In this article, we tackle the topic of Software Defect Prediction (SDP), a field dedicated to foreseeing and mitigating potential errors before they manifest into costly problems. This blog post by Kurt Neuskens explores the current state of SDP, its significance, methodologies, challenges and the promising horizon that lies ahead.
The significance of Software Defect Prediction (SDP) Software defects can range from minor bugs that slightly annoy users to critical vulnerabilities that compromise data security and system functionality. In this context, SDP is not just about fixing errors; it's about proactively improving software quality, reducing development costs and enhancing user trust and satisfaction.
Methodological evolution From traditional to Machine Learning (ML) approaches
Traditionally, SDP relied on manual code reviews and simple statistical techniques to identify potential problem areas. However, with the advent of ML and Artificial Intelligence (AI), the landscape has dramatically shifted. Today, SDP leverages sophisticated algorithms to analyse historical data, code metrics and change logs, providing insights with unprecedented accuracy. Within Project Defect Prediction (WPDP) focuses on predictive techniques that are trained on a specific project and the prediction accuracy is measured within these boundaries. Cross Project Defect Prediction (CPDP) tries to extend the reach of predictive capabilities.
Secondary and tertiary studies
The body of knowledge in SDP has grown through secondary studies, such as Systematic Literature Reviews (SLRs) and meta-analyses, synthesising findings from primary research. These studies have been instrumental in identifying effective predictive models, techniques and tools. Tertiary studies go a step further, aggregating insights from these secondary sources to offer a panoramic view of the field, highlighting trends, gaps and future directions. An interesting tertiary study on SDP is a research landscape on Software Defect Prediction from Anam Taskeen, Saif Ur Rehman Khan and Ebubeogu Amarachukwu Felix.
Challenges ahead Despite significant advancements, several challenges remain in the path of accurate SDP:
Data quality and availability: High-quality, accessible datasets are crucial for training and testing predictive models. However, inconsistencies, incomplete data and the lack of publicly available datasets pose significant hurdles.
Model generalisation: Creating models that perform well across different projects, languages and domains remains a challenge. The specificity of software projects often requires tailored models, complicating the task of generalisation.
Class imbalance: Defective instances in software projects are typically fewer than non-defective ones, leading to class imbalance issues that can skew model performance.
Interpretability and explainability: As ML models become more complex, understanding their predictions and the factors influencing them becomes more challenging, raising concerns about transparency and trust.
The promising horizon Looking ahead, the field of SDP shows a lot of opportunities for innovation and improvement:
Advances in AI and ML: Ongoing advancements in AI and ML, including deep learning, offer new possibilities for more accurate and robust defect prediction models.
Available categorised data on software quality: There are big advancements in code quality analysis tools like SonarQube, CodeGuru, Snyk and others in combination with a lot of test data that deliver better training data for categorising different types of defects.
Cross-project prediction: Research is increasingly focusing on models that can be applied across different projects, enhancing their utility and flexibility. This in contrast with Within-Project Defect Prediction' that cannot be extended to other scopes or projects.
Early prediction: Efforts to predict defects earlier in the development lifecycle, even during the design and requirements phases, promise to further reduce costs and improve quality.
Ethical AI and fairness: As awareness of AI ethics grows, future SDP models will likely incorporate considerations of fairness, bias and ethical use, ensuring they benefit a broad range of users and scenarios.
Looking forward to a bright future ML techniques are getting more and more attention in R&D within SDP. There is little research on Cross Project' Defect Prediction and the research that is available is not satisfactory enough at the moment of writing although Within Project' Defect Prediction already yields some good results on certain testing types. With the rise of available and structured software quality metrics, the evolution on feature extraction with ML and the interest of R&D in new architectures like transformer models and semantic networks (knowledge graphs), the future on effective, Cross Project Defect Prediction looks bright.
As we journey forward, your insights and queries fuel our quest for innovation. Connect with us through our contact form below to be part of shaping the future of software development.
Want to learn how we can help? Get in touch with one of our experts.
First name*
Last name*
Email Address*
Telephone
Company
Your message*
By submitting this form, I understand that my data will be processed by Resillion as described in our Privacy Policy.
lang: en
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
30/08/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has adopted its FY 2025 Regulatory Fees Order that establishes the regulatory fee rates for the broadcast stati...
29/08/2025
Australian Red Cross and SBS launch training to help workplaces in the fight aga...
29/08/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
29/08/2025
L3Harris Technologies has concentrated decades of expertise across the entire enterprise to develop affordable and reliable best-of-breed solutions to rapidly c...
29/08/2025
BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference have announced a new media rights deal that will extend their broadcast partnership beginning with the ...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK Gracenote has released a new analysis of its global video dataset showing that the number of FAST channels grew nearly 14% from Q1 2025 and 76% since 2...
29/08/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced a series of improvements to its live sports streaming solution that the company said will improve fan engagement, protec...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES Fox Corp. and YouTube TV last night announced a renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business...
29/08/2025
Budapest, Hungary, August 2025 - The integration of Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) with Lightware's Taurus universal matrix switchers delivers a new level of f...
29/08/2025
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's best-known streaming television channels, today announced it will launch Studio Live, a next-generation uni...
29/08/2025
In an era when AI and cyber resilience are essential, Scality will mark the 10th anniversary of Scality Day on October 16, 2025 in Paris. This flagship global e...
29/08/2025
Disguise's In-House Creative and Technical Teams Pre-Visualised, Programmed and Delivered Content for the Experience, All Powered by EX 3+
Technology solu...
29/08/2025
Disguise will be demonstrating the latest workflows for TV, film and live events on a number of partner booths at the show
Disguise, the industry-leading tech...
29/08/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Accedo will showcase Accedo Compose, its AI agent-powered modular orchestration layer that assists streaming providers in transitioning client...
29/08/2025
LOS ANGELES Cineverse has announced that it is working with Xperi to bring four of its streaming channels to automobiles for the first time as part of the DTS A...
29/08/2025
DALLAS & ATLANTA Gray Media has announced an agreement with the sports streaming service Victory+ to simulcast 17 Dallas Stars NHL games in 15 television market...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK AND CULVER CITY Comcast NBCUniversal and Amazon have announced new and extended distribution agreements that will expand the content available on their...
29/08/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. RED Digital Cinema will feature its Cine-Broadcast Module supporting live broadcast workflows during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Ams...
29/08/2025
29 Aug 2025
Kyivstar Rings Opening Bell at Nasdaq Marking Landmark Listing and ...
29/08/2025
More than half of all NFL games live on Sky for the first timeFriday 29 August 2025
Sky Sports has announced a new three-year deal with the NFL, extending its ...
29/08/2025
Back to All News
RIV4LRIES: The Trailer of the New Series With Samuele Carrino ...
29/08/2025
Get ready for an inspiring and emotional insight into the world of competitive Irish dancing with My Story: Tomi Champion of the World airing on RT 2 this monda...
29/08/2025
RT has today announced that David McCullagh is to be the new presenter of RT Radio 1's flagship Today programme, which airs every weekday at 10am, replaci...
28/08/2025
By Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film & Artist Programs
If you want to tell untold stories, if you want to give voice to the voiceless, you've got ...
28/08/2025
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Sundance Institute-supported Amer...
28/08/2025
Corridos have been a cornerstone of M sica Mexicana for generations, telling stories rooted in everyday life. Now, a new chapter is taking shape: motivational c...
28/08/2025
Los corridos han sido un pilar de la M sica Mexicana durante generaciones, contando historias enraizadas en la vida cotidiana. Ahora, un nuevo cap tulo est tom...
28/08/2025
Earlier this month, we promised our Verano Forever party would bring the heat, a...
28/08/2025
L3Harris will provide the Polish F-16V fleet with the Viper Shield electronic warfare system as part of an upgrade program....
28/08/2025
Bilbao, August 26, 2025 - AgileTV, an international television and video technol...
28/08/2025
Ken Wilkinson is an Emmy Awards nominated New York audio engineer who specialises in production sound mixing for film, commercial, episodic and documentary work...
28/08/2025
NEW YORK FuboTV today announced that it will launch Fubo Sports, a skinny bundle that focuses on sports with a subscription price of $56 monthly....
28/08/2025
NEVADA City, Calif. At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Telestream will debut its new Global Ingest strategy, introducing a next-generation ingest arc...
28/08/2025
Dr. Rhoda Bernard Releases Groundbreaking Debut Book on Accessible Arts Educatio...
28/08/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real-time visualization, has named Oliver Gappa as Sales Di...
28/08/2025
AI-based voice enhancement will be among a series of innovations making their IBC 2025 debut on the DHD stand B46 in Hall 8 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Cent...
28/08/2025
Telef nica Servicios Audiovisuales (TSA), the leading system integrator and service provider in the media sector in Spain, with the support of Appear, the globa...
28/08/2025
To fully immerse sailing fans in the world's biggest offshore yacht race, production company, Optical Media turned to LiveU's On-site Production solutio...
28/08/2025
Working with Calrec on its most recent overhaul, radio and television broadcaster, WNED has migrated to a fully IP infrastructure with multiple Type R consoles,...
28/08/2025
Cleeng, the Subscriber Retention Management (SRM ) inventor, has unveiled Cleeng Pro, the first-ever direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription management platform t...
28/08/2025
Zixi, the industry leader in live broadcast-quality video over IP, today announced that French media distribution platform OKAST has selected Zixi to enable rel...
28/08/2025
Solution offers a streamlined, speaker-free architecture to optimize integration with premium external loudspeakers and advanced loudness metering
Nixer Pro Au...
28/08/2025
Cinegy, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has announced a strategic partnership with Vision One Touch Film Production Services L.L...
28/08/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will debut its new Global Ingest strategy at IBC2025, introducing a next-generation ingest architect...
28/08/2025
Tier 1 operator selects Broadpeak to power high-performance, unified CDN solution across Norway, Sweden and Finland
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and moneti...
28/08/2025
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that 24 Frames Digital, one of India's leading live event streaming service providers, has chose...
28/08/2025
Meet VisualOn at IBC2025: See What's Next in AI-Powered Video Streaming Join VisualOn at IBC2025 and discover how our AI-driven Optimizer and advanced media...
In our latest #QAInsights initiative, we described the current state of AI-driven test automation. If you want to review this post, please go to: https://www.resillion.com/latest-news/ai-driven-test-automation/ 
