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Design and Code Inspections to Reduce Errors in Program Development.

M.E. FaganIBM Systems Journal, 1976

Presented by Ankush Varma

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Overview

What is Code Inspection Study: Quantification of Benefits The Formal Inspection Process Code Inspection for Process

Management

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Code Inspection

Code is only looked at from a debugging viewpoint.

Cannot revisit algorithms, check for coding standards etc. easily.

Inspection is a formal process of looking at all aspects of both design and code even when nothing seems broken.

Write Code

Debug

Add features

Test

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Programming : A Manageable Process

Programming can be though of as a process: Requirement Statements are Input. A series of processing operations act on this. Each step has well-defined output. Each step has unambiguous exit criteria e.g. clean

compilation, number of lines of code a design statement translates to etc.

Cost of reworking errors massively increases down the process.

Note the underlying ties to a waterfall model.

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The Programming Process

cost

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The Benefits of Code Inspection : A Study

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Study of Error Detection Rates

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The Formal Inspection Process

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People Involved

Moderator Designer Coder/Implementor Tester

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The Steps of the Inspection Process

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What to Look For : Examples

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Code Inspection for Process Management

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Using Code Inspections for Process Control

List most error-prone modules to prioritize testing, re-coding or later inspections.

Compare processes to evaluate relative effectiveness.

Use increased predictability to plan ahead. Error re-work moved to first half of process,

where it is cheaper. Earlier quantification of product quality.

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Inspections are NOT Walk-Throughs

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Questions/Discussion