Abstract:
Formal technical review (FTR) is an essential component of all software quality
assessment, assurance and improvement techniques. However, current FTR practice
leads to significant expense, clerical overhead, group process obstacles, and research
methodology problems. This research aimed at looking for ways and means of making
FTR more effective and less of a burden.
This research affirms that the background and experience variables of the reviewers
affect the defects a reviewer is able to uncover at different phases of software
development. It then presents the most important background and experience variables
for a reviewer to be able to uncover certain classes of defects.
Software products are largely different, this could be due to for example, the
environment of use, the effects of malfunctioning (it could be mild or fatal). This
research provides a framework in which quality knowledge (lessons learned in software
inspection) can be captured and reused during the inspection process. We pursue the
idea of the accumulation of knowledge during reviews and establish a framework and a
tool environment in which experience gained can be used by Project Managers when
preparing for Formal Technical Reviews.
