Title :
Do arbitrary function approximators make sense as software prediction models?
Author :
Myrtveit, Ingunn ; Stensrud, Erik
Author_Institution :
Norwegian Sch. of Manage., Oslo
Abstract :
Predicting software development effort with high precision is still a major challenge for the industry and a major research area in software engineering. A significant share of research on software prediction is devoted to research on arbitrary function approximators, such as estimation by analogy, regression trees and artificial neural networks. This paper questions the use of arbitrary function approximators (AFA´s) for software prediction by invoking theory of science and appealing to common sense. We argue that arbitrary function approximators may be useful in exploratory data analysis but we question their value for predictive purposes, and especially for software effort prediction
Keywords :
function approximation; software engineering; arbitrary function approximators; artificial neural networks; data analysis; regression trees; software development prediction; software effort prediction; software engineering; Costs; Data analysis; Educational institutions; Engineering management; Predictive models; Programming; Research and development management; Software development management; Software engineering; Taxonomy;
Conference_Titel :
Software Technology and Engineering Practice, 2004. STEP 2004. The 12th International Workshop on
Conference_Location :
Chicago, IL
Print_ISBN :
0-7695-2293-9
DOI :
10.1109/STEP.2004.9