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| Thought Paper |
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Defect Estimation Strategies |
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| Abstract |
The determination of the market success of any software product is largely dependent on its quality
in terms of defect-free functionality. To guarantee the quality of their software products, software
companies must have a robust QA process. A typical QA process includes numerous rounds of
testing. The testing too is of different types focused on different aspects of the application. However, the greatest challenge faced by leaders of business units, in this sphere is the time and resources consumed by testing
In contrast, releasing a software application ahead of other competitive products is also extremely important to its success. Considering that the QA process is nearly always time-consuming, releasing the product and ensuring it is 100% defect free can be quite an overwhelming task.
Thus, to gain a competitive advantage, software companies must release their products before their competitors, while simultaneously making sure their releases are relatively defect-free. While determining the market readiness of a product, it might sometimes be necessary to use
instinct. However, on applying several statistical techniques one can arrive at an empirical decision.
Defect estimation is a popular technique to assess the release readiness of a software product.
Defect estimation is the process of proactively identifying various kinds of defects in the design,
content and code of a software product. It is conducted not only to enhance the product quality, but
also to increase its performance capability. In fact, the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) defines
defect estimation as a key process area that indicates software performance.
This white paper describes the significance of defect estimation in the software development
process. It also discusses the methodology of estimating defects for systems and application
projects. Also highlighted, is Patni's model for defect estimation, evolved over several project life
cycles.
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