Chapter 13 Defect Prevention amp; Process Improvement.ppt

Chapter 13: Defect Prevention Process Improvement Defect prevention approaches Error blocking Error source removal Process improvement QA Alternatives Defect and QA: Defect: error/fault/failure. Defect prevention/removal/containment. Map to major QA activities Defect prevention (this chapter): Error source removal error blocking Defect removal: Inspection/testing/etc. Defect containment: Fault tolerance and failure containment (safety assurance). Generic Ways for Defect Prevention Error blocking Error: missing/incorrect actions Direct intervention Error blocked = fault injections prevented Rely on technology/tools/etc. Error source removal Root cause analysis = identify error sources Removal through education/training/etc. Defect Prevention: Why and How? Major factors in favor of defect prevention: Super-linear defect cost ↑ over time early faults: chain-effect/propagation difficult to fix remote (early) faults in-field problems: cost s↑ significantly Basis for defect prevention: Causal and risk analysis Analyze pervasive defects Cause identification and fixing Risk analysis to focus/zoom-in Defect Cause and Actions Types of causal analyses: Logical (root cause) analysis by expert for individual defects and defect groups Statistical (risk) analysis for large data sets with multiple attributes Model: predictor variables = defects # defects: often as response variable Actions for identified causes: Remedial actions for current product Preventive actions for future products: Common Causes/Preventive Actions Education/training to correct human misconceptions as error sources (13.3): Product/domain knowledge, Development methodology, Development process, etc. Act to remove error sources Formal methods, Chapter 15: Formal specification: to eliminate imprecision in design/implementation. Formally verify fault absence. Common Causes/Preventive Actions Technologies/tools/standards/etc. (13.4): Based on empirical (statistical) evidence Proper select