Costs & Benefits of Software Quality
Rick Spiewak from The MITRE Corporation and Karen McRitchie, Galorath VP of development published a paper in the Crosstalk journal showing how increasing quality using basic quality principals during software development can reduce costs while also reducing defects. The abstract follows:
“Software can be considered a product whose production is fundamentally similar to other products. Improving the quality of software can be approached using the same basic principles espoused by quality pioneers such as W. Edwards Deming, Philip B. Crosby and Harold F. Dodge. These principles can form a practical framework for ensuring that appropriate requirements are set for software development projects. By connecting established software engineering practices to the objective of defect prevention, we can apply the principles of quality management to software development. Using modeling techniques, it is possible to predict the potential cost savings and defect reduction expected”.
Fundamentals of Software Construction For Quality
“The fundamentals of software construction include
- Minimizing complexity
- Anticipating change
- Constructing for verification
- Standards in construction”
Best Practices
- Uniform coding standards
- Automated Unit Testing
- Root Cause Analysis
- Code Reuse
Results
The paper, using SEER for Software concluded potentially significant 11% cost and 4% schedule reductions as well as a 19% reduction in defects as follow:
|
Baseline |
Introducing Automated Unit Testing |
Difference |
Automated Unit Testing + Experience |
Difference |
|
| Schedule Months |
17.09 |
17.41 |
2% |
16.43 |
-4% |
| Effort Months |
157 |
166 |
6% |
139 |
-11% |
| Hours |
23,881 |
25,250 |
6% |
21,181 |
-11% |
| Base Year Cost |
$ 2,733,755 |
$ 2,890,449 |
6% |
$ 2,424,699 |
-11% |
| Defect Prediction |
84 |
81 |
-4% |
68 |
-19% |
Again the full article may be accessed via Crosstalk magazine.
Good job Rick and Karen
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Project Prediction Infographic
It was interesting to me, and realistic, to see that the introduction of a process change ADDS effort and schedule, and only through its continued use is the promised gain achieved.