Using the support vector machine as a classification method for software defect prediction with static code metrics

Abstract

The automated detection of defective modules within software systems could lead to reduced development costs and more reliable software. In this work the static code metrics for a collection of modules contained within eleven NASA data sets are used with a Support Vector Machine classifier. A rigorous sequence of pre-processing steps were applied to the data prior to classification, including the balancing of both classes (defective or otherwise) and the removal of a large number of repeating instances. The Support Vector Machine in this experiment yields an average accuracy of 70% on previously unseen data.