# Build Issue Resolution from the Perspective of Non-Contributors

**Authors:** Sunzhou Huang, Xiaoyin Wang  
**arXiv:** [2410.16311](https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.16311)  
**Date:** 2024-10-07  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/paper/2410.16311v1/

## Key points

- Study focused on behavior of participants encountering build issues in open-source software (OSS) projects
- Data collection methods included logging command history, environment variables, and network information
- Snapshots taken to capture entire virtual machine (VM) state at specific moments
- 303 build issues from 31 reports analyzed using open coding procedure by two authors
- Fourteen distinct symptoms of build issues identified and categorized into environment, process, system, and test-related issues
- Number of reported issues correlated with number of participants and project-specific factors
- 60.1% of build issues remained unsettled indicating persistent challenges faced by non-contributors
- Study contributes to understanding non-contributors' behavior in resolving build issues in OSS projects

## Summary

This study examines the behavior of participants encountering build issues in open-source software (OSS) projects. To collect data and gain insight into the issue resolution process, various methods were utilized including logging command history, environment variables, and network information. Additionally, snapshots were taken to capture the entire virtual machine (VM) state at specific moments. The resulting 303 build issues from 31 reports were analyzed using an open coding procedure by two authors. Fourteen distinct symptoms of build issues were identified and categorized into environment, process, system, and test-related issues. It was found that the number of reported issues was not only correlated with the number of participants but also project-specific. However, a significant portion (60.1%) remained unsettled indicating persistent challenges faced by non-contributors in resolving build issues. This study contributes to understanding non-contributors' behavior when dealing with build issues in OSS projects and lays the foundation for further research aimed at enhancing their experience in resolving such challenges.