3. Static techniques Flashcards
What is static testing?
During static testing, software work products are examined
manually, or with a set of tools, but not executed.
What defects are easier to find with static techniques?
deviations from standards, missing
requirements, design defects, non-maintainable code and inconsistent interface
specifications. Note that in contrast to dynamic testing, static testing finds
defects rather than failures.
What are the advantages of static techniques?
• Since static testing can start early in the life cycle, early feedback on quality issues can be established, e.g. an early validation of user requirements and not just late in the life cycle during acceptance testing.
• By detecting defects at an early stage, rework costs are most often relatively low and thus a relatively cheap improvement of the quality of software products can be achieved.
• Since rework effort is substantially reduced, development productivity
figures are likely to increase.
• The evaluation by a team has the additional advantage that there is an exchange of information between the participants.
• Static tests contribute to an increased awareness of quality issues.
What are the main variations of reviews?
Reviews vary from very informal to formal (i.e. well structured and regulated)
What are the phases of a formal review?
1 Planning 2 Kick-off 3 Preparation 4 Review meeting 5 Rework 6 Follow-up.
What are entry criteria for a document under entry check?
• A short check of a product sample by the moderator (or expert) does not
reveal a large number of major defects. For example, after 30 minutes of
checking, no more than 3 major defects are found on a single page or fewer
than 10 major defects in total in a set of 5 pages.
• The document to be reviewed is available with line numbers.
• The document has been cleaned up by running any automated checks
that apply.
• References needed for the inspection are stable and available.
• The document author is prepared to join the review team and feels confident
with the quality of the document.
What is the average maximum size for the pages to be reviewed in a document during a review session?
10 and 20 pages. In formal inspection, only a page or two
may be looked at in depth in order to find the most serious defects that are
not obvious.
What is a usual size fo the reviewing team?
4-6 persons including moderation and author.
What roles regarding focus of the review can be assinged in a review team?
• focus on higher-level documents, e.g. does the design comply to the
requirements;
• focus on standards, e.g. internal consistency, clarity, naming conventions,
templates;
• focus on related documents at the same level, e.g. interfaces between soft
ware functions;
• focus on usage, e.g. for testability or maintainability.
What is Kick-off?
An optional step in a review procedure is a kick-off meeting. The goal of this
meeting is to get everybody on the same wavelength regarding the document
under review and to commit to the time that will be spent on checking.
During the kick-off meeting the reviewers receive a short introduction on the
objectives of the review and the documents. The relationships between the doc-
ument under review and the other documents (sources) are explained, espe-
cially if the number of related documents is high.
What is a critical success factro during Preparation step in review process?
A critical success factor for a thorough preparation is the number of pages
checked per hour. This is called the checking rate. The optimum checking
rate is the result of a mix of factors, including the type of document, its com-
plexity, the number of related documents and the experience of the reviewer.
Usually the checking rate is in the range of five to ten pages per hour, but
may be much less for formal inspection, e.g. one page
What is a review meeting step in review process?
The meeting typically consists of the following elements (partly depending on
the review type): logging phase, discussion phase and decision phase.
During the logging phase the issues, e.g. defects, that have been identified
during the preparation are mentioned page by page, reviewer by reviewer and
are logged either by the author or by a scribe. To ensure progress and efficiency, no real discussion is allowed during the
logging phase. If an issue needs discussion, the item is logged and then handled
in the discussion phase.
What classes of severity of defects can be identified during the logging?
• Critical: defects will cause downstream damage; the scope and impact of the
defect is beyond the document under inspection.
• Major, defects could cause a downstream effect (e.g. a fault in a design can
result in an error in the implementation).
• Minor, defects are not likely to cause downstream damage (e.g. non-compli
ance with the standards and templates).
During the logging phase the focus is on logging as many defects as possible
within a certain timeframe. To ensure this, the moderator tries to keep a good logging rate (number of defects logged per minute). In a well-led and disciplined formal review meeting, the logging rate should be between one and two
defects logged per minute.
What is the most important exit criteria for a document under review?
The most
important exit criterion is the average number of critical and/or major defects
found per page (e.g. no more than three critical/major defects per page).
What is rework step in document review process?
Based on the defects detected, the author will improve the document under
review step by step.
