Can using Fagan Inspections improve the quality of specification in 2011? A Case Study

In this paper, we explore why Fagan Inspections have become obsolete in the software industry, given the body of evidence which supports their use to improve the quality of software artefacts and the software development process. Since the late 1970’s, much has been written about how Fagan Inspections improve the quality of both processes and outputs of the software development process. The literature indicates that the Fagan Inspection technique can improve quality of software (or other software development artefacts) by a reduction in defects of 60 – 90%. However, recent literature suggests that inspection techniques in general and Fagan Inspections in particular, are no longer used. A study in 1998 found that respondents used inspections either irregularly or not at all. Teams often review artefacts informally, but believe that they are performing an inspection or formal review. The lack of rigour in the review process results in reduced benefits and more defects in the artefacts. To explore this situation, we conducted a case study with a local enterprise and we report on the early findings. These suggest that the introduction of Fagan Inspections may have a number of benefits before they have even been introduced fully, including recognition of flaws in the current development process, development of technical knowledge relating to the software process domain, and improved team relations and a ‘quality’ culture. In addition, the personnel using Fagan Inspection gain experience in the production of ‘quality’ artefacts

Group Decision Support forSoftware Requirements Analysis

The importance of Requirements Analysis (RA) in building quality software systems is well documented. However, the involvement of various individuals in RA including users and developers creates numerous communication difficulties in correctly identifying user requirements. The purpose of this research is to formalize the stages of RA and identify methodologies appropriate for each stage, incorporating components of group decision support systems (GDSS) that exploit the group dynamics in facilitating and improving the process. We develop a prototype of this GDSS and test its impact on the quality of R

Error Cost Escalation Through the Project Life Cycle

It is well known that the costs to fix errors increase as the project matures, but how fast do those costs build? A study was performed to determine the relative cost of fixing errors discovered during various phases of a project life cycle. This study used three approaches to determine the relative costs: the bottom-up cost method, the total cost breakdown method, and the top-down hypothetical project method. The approaches and results described in this paper presume development of a hardware/software system having project characteristics similar to those used in the development of a large, complex spacecraft, a military aircraft, or a small communications satellite. The results show the degree to which costs escalate, as errors are discovered and fixed at later and later phases in the project life cycle. If the cost of fixing a requirements error discovered during the requirements phase is defined to be 1 unit, the cost to fix that error if found during the design phase increases to 3 - 8 units; at the manufacturing/build phase, the cost to fix the error is 7 - 16 units; at the integration and test phase, the cost to fix the error becomes 21 - 78 units; and at the operations phase, the cost to fix the requirements error ranged from 29 units to more than 1500 unit

A semi-automatic verification tool for software requirements specification documents

Most software problems arise from deficiencies in the manner in which software requirements are elicited and expressed. Ensuring that the Software Requirements Specification document (SRS) has the necessary quality is crucial to the success of any software development project, since its information is used across all project stages. In this paper, we present a semiautomatic verification tool for SRS documents based on a comprehensive quality model.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ

Software Requirements Quality Evaluation: State of the art and research challenges

Quality models are important tools for quality management. In software development projects, they are useful as predictive tools for assessing the state of the product being developed and the process used. In order to achieve software quality, a high-quality Software Requirements Specification (SRS) is required. This document is generated at the beginning of a software development project, and is used in all stages. Thus, it is essential to evaluate the quality of the SRS in order to be able to take early corrective and enhancement actions. However, assessing the quality of a SRS is not a simple process, mainly by the multitude of proposals, often contradictory, of the attributes to be evaluated and the methodologies used for that purpose. Thus, it is mandatory to consider proven quality models for guiding this evaluation process. Related to this, this work performs an exploratory analysis of various quality models proposed in this area which can be used as a basis for SRS quality evaluation. Moreover, the work is intended to be a compendium of the most important tendencies and strategies in the field that serves as a starting point for developing comprehensive models and tools for quality attributes evaluation in a SRS.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativa (SADIO

Software Requirements Quality Evaluation: State of the art and research challenges

Quality models are important tools for quality management. In software development projects, they are useful as predictive tools for assessing the state of the product being developed and the process used. In order to achieve software quality, a high-quality Software Requirements Specification (SRS) is required. This document is generated at the beginning of a software development project, and is used in all stages. Thus, it is essential to evaluate the quality of the SRS in order to be able to take early corrective and enhancement actions. However, assessing the quality of a SRS is not a simple process, mainly by the multitude of proposals, often contradictory, of the attributes to be evaluated and the methodologies used for that purpose. Thus, it is mandatory to consider proven quality models for guiding this evaluation process. Related to this, this work performs an exploratory analysis of various quality models proposed in this area which can be used as a basis for SRS quality evaluation. Moreover, the work is intended to be a compendium of the most important tendencies and strategies in the field that serves as a starting point for developing comprehensive models and tools for quality attributes evaluation in a SRS.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativa (SADIO

A semi-automatic verification tool for software requirements specification documents

Most software problems arise from deficiencies in the manner in which software requirements are elicited and expressed. Ensuring that the Software Requirements Specification document (SRS) has the necessary quality is crucial to the success of any software development project, since its information is used across all project stages. In this paper, we present a semiautomatic verification tool for SRS documents based on a comprehensive quality model.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ

Software Requirements Quality Evaluation: State of the art and research challenges

Quality models are important tools for quality management. In software development projects, they are useful as predictive tools for assessing the state of the product being developed and the process used. In order to achieve software quality, a high-quality Software Requirements Specification (SRS) is required. This document is generated at the beginning of a software development project, and is used in all stages. Thus, it is essential to evaluate the quality of the SRS in order to be able to take early corrective and enhancement actions. However, assessing the quality of a SRS is not a simple process, mainly by the multitude of proposals, often contradictory, of the attributes to be evaluated and the methodologies used for that purpose. Thus, it is mandatory to consider proven quality models for guiding this evaluation process. Related to this, this work performs an exploratory analysis of various quality models proposed in this area which can be used as a basis for SRS quality evaluation. Moreover, the work is intended to be a compendium of the most important tendencies and strategies in the field that serves as a starting point for developing comprehensive models and tools for quality attributes evaluation in a SRS.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativa (SADIO

Empirical Validation Of Requirement Error Abstraction And Classification: A Multidisciplinary Approach

Software quality and reliability is a primary concern for successful development organizations. Over the years, researchers have focused on monitoring and controlling quality throughout the software process by helping developers to detect as many faults as possible using different fault based techniques. This thesis analyzed the software quality problem from a different perspective by taking a step back from faults to abstract the fundamental causes of faults. The first step in this direction is developing a process of abstracting errors from faults throughout the software process. I have described the error abstraction process (EAP) and used it to develop error taxonomy for the requirement stage. This thesis presents the results of a study, which uses techniques based on an error abstraction process and investigates its application to requirement documents. The initial results show promise and provide some useful insights. These results are important for our further investigation

Towards a self-evolving software defect detection process

Software defect detection research typically focuses on individual inspection and testing techniques. However, to be effective in applying defect detection techniques, it is important to recognize when to use inspection techniques and when to use testing techniques. In addition, it is important to know when to deliver a product and use maintenance activities, such as trouble shooting and bug fixing, to address the remaining defects in the software.To be more effective detecting software defects, not only should defect detection techniques be studied and compared, but the entire software defect detection process should be studied to give us a better idea of how it can be conducted, controlled, evaluated and improved.This thesis presents a self-evolving software defect detection process (SEDD) that provides a systematic approach to software defect detection and guides us as to when inspection, testing or maintenance activities are best performed. The approach is self-evolving in that it is continuously improved by assessing the outcome of the defect detection techniques in comparison with historical data.A software architecture and prototype implementation of the approach is also presented along with a case study that was conducted to validate the approach. Initial results of using the self-evolving defect detection approach are promising