Toward a Benchmark Repository for Software Maintenance Tool Evaluations with Humans

Abstract

To evaluate software maintenance techniques and tools in controlled experiments with human participants, researchers currently use projects and tasks selected on an ad-hoc basis. This can unrealistically favor their tool, and it makes the comparison of results difficult. We suggest a gradual creation of a benchmark repository with projects, tasks, and metadata relevant for human-based studies. In this paper, we discuss the requirements and challenges of such a repository, along with the steps which could lead to its construction.