From Android Bug Reports to Android Bug Handling Process: An Empirical Study of Open-Source Development

Android is an operating system for mobile devices. Its development is led by Google and some other companies. Because of the open-source property of Android, anyone can report a bug through its online bug tracking system. In this paper, we analyze the bug reports of Android operating systems. Specifically, through this study, we would like to answer the following questions regarding Android development and its project management: (1) Could Android bug reports be handled on time? (2) What is the distribution of different maintenance activities initiated by Android bug reports? (3) How long does it take to handle an Android bug report? (4) Are the number of followers and the number of following messages of an Android bug report related to the effort spent on handling this bug report? Through answering these questions, this paper presents a comprehensive study of Android bug reporting and handling process. The information and knowledge obtained through this case study could help us better understand open-source software project, such as its development process and project management.