Software Inspections and Testing

Abstract

Software inspections play a key role in building quality into a software product, and testing plays a key role in verifying that the software is correct and corresponds to the requirements. The objective of inspections is to build quality into the software product as there is clear evidence that the cost of correction of a defect increases the later in the development cycle in which the defect is detected. Consequently, there is an economic argument to employing software inspections as there are cost savings in investing in quality up front rather than adding quality later in the cycle. The purpose of testing is to verify that quality has been built into the product, and in a mature software company the majority of defects (e.g., 80%) will be detected by software inspections with the remainder detected by the various forms of testing conducted in the organization.