Software Analytics [1, 2] is to utilize the data-driven approach to enable software practitioners to perform data exploration and analysis in order to obtain insightful and actionable information for completing various tasks around software systems, software users, and software development process. Software Analytics is a field within the area of Analytics. Data under exploration and analysis by Software Analytics exists in software lifecycle, including source code, software requirement specifications, bug reports, test cases, execution traces/logs, and real-world user feedback, etc. Data plays a critical role in modern software development, because hidden in the data is the information and insight about the quality of software and services, the experience that software users receive, as well as the dynamics of software development. Insightful information obtained by Software Analytics is information that conveys meaningful and useful understanding or knowledge towards performing the target task. Actionable information obtained by Software Analytics is information upon which software practitioners can come up with concrete solutions (better than existing solutions if any) towards completing the target task. The tutorial will present achievements and challenges in software analytics, to be given using an interactive style with slide handouts and discussions.

Tutorial Presentation Slides: http://www.slideshare.net/taoxiease/software-analytics-achievements-and-challenges

[1] Dongmei Zhang, Yingnong Dang, Jian-Guang Lou, Shi Han, Haidong Zhang, and Tao Xie, Software Analytics as a Learning Case in Practice: Approaches and Experiences, in Proceedings of International Workshop on Machine Learning Technologies in Software Engineering (MALETS 2011), Lawrence, Kansas, November 2011. http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/groups/sa/malets11-analytics.pdf

[2] Dongmei Zhang, Shi Han, Yingnong Dang, Jian-Guang Lou, Haidong Zhang, and Tao Xie. Software Analytics in Practice. IEEE Software, Special Issue on the Many Faces of Software Analytics, 30(5), pages 30-37, September/October 2013. http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/groups/sa/ieeesoft13-softanalytics.pdf