Defect Detection and Defect Content Estimation Methods for Inspection of a Software Requirements Specification Document

Erwin Schrödinger Fellowship J 1948 Inspection Methods for Defect Detection and Estimation Stefan BIFFL 09.10.2000 Project and quality management are core competencies for timely and economical development of high-quality software products. Inspection of software requirements is currently the most effective quality assurance measure to detect and remove defects in an early stage of development when it is particularly cost-effective. Three important inspection-related areas are defect detection, defect content estimation, and reinspection. Defect detection deals with techniques for individual inspectors to find defects of specific defect classes effectively and economically. Defect content estimation uses techniques to estimate the set of remaining defects in a software document after its inspection. The estimate helps evaluate document as well as inspection process quality. Reinspection is expected to improve the document quality if the initial inspection showed that the document exceeds a given defect limit. Empirical data on the distribution of defects in development documents-are a basis for assessment and improvement of software development processes in a given project environment. We propose to tailor state-of-the- art reading techniques for inspection to given requirements for defect detection and to compare them in a controlled environment to techniques used in industry. Further research goals are the investigation of effects of different reading techniques on the accuracy of defect content estimation models, and to gather empirical data on the effectiveness and efficiency of a second inspection pass. Overall goal is to broaden the practical application of these innovative Software Engineering methods to support quality management and project management in industry.