Data Mining For Validation In Software Engineering: An Example

Consider two independently done software engineering studies that used different approaches to cover some of the same subject area, such as software maintenance. Although done differently and for different purposes, to what extent can each study serve as a validation of the other? Within the scope of the subject area overlap, data mining can be applied to provide a quantitative assessment. This paper reports on the data mining that attempted to cross validate two independently done and published software engineering studies of software maintenance, one on a corrective maintenance maturity model, and the other on an objective classification of software maintenance activities. The data mining established that each of the two independently done studies effectively and very strongly validates the other.