From Literature to Practice: Exploring Fairness Testing Tools for the Software Industry Adoption
Context: The increasing integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning into software systems has highlighted the critical importance of ensuring fairness in these technologies. Bias in software can lead to inequitable outcomes, making fairness testing essential. However, the current landscape of fairness testing tools remains underexplored, particularly regarding their practical applicability and usability for software development practitioners. Goal: This study aimed to evaluate the practical applicability of existing fairness testing tools for software development practitioners, assessing their usability, documentation, and overall effectiveness in real-world industry settings. Method: We identified 41 fairness testing tools from the literature and conducted a heuristic evaluation and documentary analysis of their installation processes, user interfaces, supporting documentation, and update frequencies. Technical analysis included assessing configurability for diverse datasets. The analysis focused on identifying strengths and deficiencies to determine their suitability for industry use. Findings: Our findings revealed that most fairness testing tools show significant deficiencies, particularly in user-friendliness, detailed documentation, and configurability. These limitations restrict their practical use in industry settings. The tools also lack regular updates and possess a narrow focus on specific datasets, which constrains their versatility and scalability. Despite some strengths, such as cost-effectiveness and compatibility with several environments, the overall landscape of fairness testing tools requires substantial improvements to meet industry needs. Conclusion: There is a pressing need to develop fairness testing tools that align more closely with industry requirements, offering enhanced usability, comprehensive documentation, and greater configurability to effectively support software development practitioners.