Critical Views on the Effective Implementation of Defect Prevention:
Quality Assurance (QA) teams, also commonly known as testing groups, are integral components in Information Technology (IT) projects.
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QA activities not only encompass technical elements but also extend to areas beyond identifying defects (also understood as the act of discovering flaws post their occurrence, typically termed as quality control or testing). An essential component of QA is defect prevention, which aims to eliminate defect creation or restrict their presence prior to the software being developed.
An alternative straightforward formula could be:
QA = QC (defect identification) + Defect prevention
While it seems straightforward, there’s inadequate advice available for efficiently conducting and implementing defect prevention measures.
In reality, defects discovered during testing or worse, post-release, are not only costlier to rectify but can also negatively impact the credibility of the brand. Consequently, implementing preventive procedures at an early stage is essential. Furthermore, defect prevention also helps in attaining the highest level in CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) for businesses.
Let’s explore the concept of defect prevention in greater depth in this write-up.
What You Will Learn:
Defect Prevention
Regarded as a pivotal task or procedure in the entire software development process, Defect Prevention constitutes nearly 50% of all testing tasks, as depicted in the diagram below:
Briefly, Here Are the Responsibilities of Testers for Defect Prevention at Each Stage:
#1) Review of Requirement Specifications:
Upon comprehending the customer’s requirements, a summary of the requirements is prepared.
Necessary at this stage are reviews – first within the team, subsequently, an external examination (typically involving a developer, business analyst, or client) to confirm alignment across various viewpoints.
#2) Design Review:
The design phase can be regarded as strategic, navigating through it equips the QA team with a better comprehension of the advantages and drawbacks of each strategy.
This crucial review unveils any issues with the strategies and facilitates their solutions before moving forward. Essentially, it serves as a viability study for the chosen strategy/strategies.
#3) Code Review:
Even though tester’s involvement is somewhat minimal during this phase, a code review is indeed conducted. Before proceeding with unit and integration testing of the application, developers perform code inspections, walkthroughs, and reviews.
Approaches and Procedures for Defect Prevention
Outlined below are some conventional and commonly employed methods of defect prevention:
#1) Review and Inspection: This approach comprises self-assessments, peer evaluations, and inspection of all working products.
=> For additional details on how this process is executed, please visit our Test Documentation Reviews article.
#2) Walkthrough: This method bears similarity to reviews, but places more emphasis on juxtaposing the system against the prototype, thus enabling a better comprehension of its accuracy and overall appeal.
#3) Defect Logging and Documentation: This involves recording essential details and arguments/factors that can aid in defect analysis.
#4) Root Cause Analysis: Two primary approaches comprise Root Cause Analysis:
I) Pareto Analysis:
Being a straightforward and organized technique, Pareto Analysis assists in prioritizing problem solutions for maximal results. It suggests that 20% of reasons are responsible for 80% of problems.
Problems discovered are then ordered according to their frequency and consequently, an in-depth statistical analysis is conducted to identify the core 20% causes generating 80% of issues. By focusing on eradicating these central causes, results are ensured with minimal necessary effort.
II) Fishbone Analysis:
Also recognized as Ishikawa Analysis, this visualization technique for root cause analysis does not depend on statistics but relies on collective team brainstorming. The diagram below elucidates it.
The problem is expressed at the right end, and causes are listed on the horizontal line that passes through it. The branch containing most cause-and-subcause connections (or lines/branches) signifies the most severe issue that needs elimination. This technique is also known as cause and effect analysis.
TMM Level and Defect Management by Testing Organization
#1) The Testing Maturity Model (TMM) is a derivative of the Capability Maturity Model (CMM).
#2) As Defect Prevention necessitates a joint endeavor by several staff members across various stages, it is instrumental in achieving TMM Level 5. For instance, if a particular test case or procedure repetitively witnesses a defect, the organization might allocate a group of team members to examine the defect and devise a strategy with measures to effect process alterations to resolve the issue.
#3) Some Advantages of the Defect Prevention Program Include:
- Energized and more cognizant employees
- Enhanced customer satisfaction
- Improved reliability, manageability, and predictability
- Bettered continual process improvement
Roles and Responsibilities of Team Members
Three key groups are involved in the defect prevention process:
Role of Manager:
- For the triumph of any defect prevention program, management’s robust support is vital.
- Assistance can be in the shape of resources, training, and tools necessary for the successful realization of the plan.
- Management needs to establish suitable policies and be receptive to cultural variations, if required.
- Managers are expected to encourage discussions, disseminate a common list of defects, and advocate process modifications.
Role of Tester:
- Testing professionals manage the defect database and ascertain that defect data is regularly updated and accurate.
- They are also involved in strategizing the execution of changes.
Role of Client:
- Although the client’s role is relatively minor, their dedication to maintaining quality is critical.
Conclusion
Playing a key and vital role in the software development process, Defect Prevention assists in administering the software product’s quality in a cost-effective and timely manner, using the techniques discussed above.
It ascertains that issues are spotted and dealt with early, before their appearance in the application. Root cause analysis is considered the primary method for recognizing and eliminating issues.
Assuring software quality is the obligation of the central management and the entire group, inclusive of the project leader, client, and every team member.
What are your procedures for preventing defects? Please share your observations, queries, and views below.