A DEFECT-CENTRIC OPEN-SOURCE LIFECYCLE MODEL

The fact that all software has defects is one of the few things that are true across all software projects. Traditionally, few proprietary software project managers would risk cultivating a reputation for producing ``buggy' code by making details about the defects in their products public. However, products such as Linux, Apache, and Mozilla have turned this attitude on its head by laying bare for inspection not only their source code but also the inner workings of their development processes. This thesis takes advantage of this openness by modeling open-source software development with a defect-centric approach. First, a framework for measuring the productivity of contributors is defined. These measurements allow contributors to be divided into groups identified by the activities they perform. Many of these activities are well-known; however, the activity of characterization is unique enough to warrant further attention and it is described along with its artifact, the trace path, in detail. Finally, predictions made by the model are tested using data from the Mozilla project, and the model is corroborated.