Linking User Requests, Developer Responses and Code Changes: Android OS Case Study

Since software systems are designed to satisfy customers' needs, developers have an obligation to address users' requirements and demands logged via issue trackers and other forums. Having to respond to a large number of requests while developing and perfecting systems presents prioritization challenges, however. Android Operating System (OS) developers have largely overcome this obstacle by responding to specific user requests, which may be traced back to actual software code changes, providing lessons for the software engineering community. This study applies text and data mining techniques to investigate the Android community as an ecosystem, exploring how developers responded to issues raised by the community over several versions of the OS. Results show a strong relationship between issues raised by the community and developer responses to these issues. This relationship also extended to actual source code changes made by developers. Furthermore, the findings show a correlation between user requests and developer responses enacted via code changes across specific Android versions and important functionalities. This evidence suggests that developers have invested in the Android platform to guarantee its survival and overall success, largely through addressing user demands. We outline implications for software engineering professionals and software systems success.

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