Decoding Anomalies! Unraveling Operational Challenges in Human-in-the-Loop Anomaly Validation

Artificial intelligence has been driving new industrial solutions for challenging problems in recent years, with many companies leveraging AI to enhance business processes and products. Automated anomaly detection emerges as one of the top priorities in AI adoption, sought after by numerous small to large-scale enterprises. Extending beyond domain-specific applications like software log analytics, where anomaly detection has perhaps garnered the most interest in software engineering, we find that very little research effort has been devoted to post-anomaly detection, such as validating anomalies. For example, validating anomalies requires human-in-the-loop interaction, though working with human experts is challenging due to uncertain requirements on how to elicit valuable feedback from them, posing formidable operationalizing challenges. In this study, we provide an experience report delving into a more holistic view of the complexities of adopting effective anomaly detection models from a requirement engineering perspective. We address challenges and provide solutions to mitigate challenges associated with operationalizing anomaly detection from diverse perspectives: inherent issues in dynamic datasets, diverse business contexts, and the dynamic interplay between human expertise and AI guidance in the decision-making process. We believe our experience report will provide insights for other companies looking to adopt anomaly detection in their own business settings.