Software Verification And Validation

by Steven R. Rakitin

Overview

This book highlights the advantages and disadvantages of various software development lifecycle models, and describes when to apply testing -- and when to use other, more cost-effective techniques. It also shows how to incorporate V&V techniques if your organization does not have a written procedure, and explains how to implement the inspection process.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780890068892
Publisher:	Artech House, Incorporated
Publication date:	02/01/1997
Series:	Artech House Computer Library (Hardcover)
Edition description:	Older Edition
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.81(d)

Table of Contents

	Preface	xv
	Who should read this book	xv
	Why I wrote this book	xv
	How this book is organized	xviii
	Acknowledgments	xviii
	References	xix
Part I	Introduction	1
Chapter 1	Software in perspective	3
1.1	The software crisis	4
1.2	No silver bullet	5
1.3	Attempts to resolve the software crisis	5
1.4	Understanding the nature of software	7
1.5	Summary	10
	References	10
Chapter 2	Software development lifecycle models	13
2.1	The waterfall model	14
2.2	The DoD-2167A model	16
2.3	The rapid prototyping model	18
2.4	The spiral model	19
2.5	Hybrid models	22
2.6	Model-based development	23
2.7	Object-oriented models	24
2.8	Summary	26
	References	26
Chapter 3	The software development process	29
3.1	Software development process FAQs	31
	Why is it important that the process be written?	31
	Won't a written process stifle creativity?	31
	We have a process that isn't written down, but it seems to work. Why should we change it?	32
	How can I convince the software engineering manager to follow a written procedure?	32
	How can having a written process improve software quality?	32
	We do not have a written procedure (or we have one but do not follow it), and the quality of our software is not too bad.
	Why should we change?	33
	What is software quality anyway?	34
	So we take the process that we currently use and write it down. Then what?	34
	How can you build in flexibility so that the process can be tailored to suit the needs of the project team?	35
	How can information collected from using the process be used to improve the process?	35
	Who should be responsible for enforcing the process?	35
	Who should be the keeper of the process?	36
3.2	Summary	36
	References	36
Chapter 4	Economic justification	39
4.1	Economic justification	40
4.2	Software defect cost models	43
4.3	Measuring the cost of quality	47
4.4	Summary	48
	References	49
Part II	Overview of software verification activities	51
	Reference	52
Chapter 5	The inspection process	53
5.1	Inspection process FAQs	55
	What is an inspection?	55
	Why is an inspection considered formal?	55
	Who participates in an inspection?	56
	What are the responsibilities of each role?	56
	Who attends the inspection meeting?	56
	Why is the producer present?	56
	How are inspections different from walk-throughs?	57
	What are the key attributes of the inspection process?	57
	Who decides what to inspect?	58
	How do you know if you are ready to perform an inspection?	59
	What materials are required to conduct an inspection?	59
	How are these materials disseminated?	61
	What if the inspection team does not have five working days to review the materials?	61
	We are having our first inspection and I am one of the inspectors. What should I do to prepare?	61
	Who decides what is a problem?	62
	What is an error?	62
	What is a defect?	62
	What if the producer doesn't agree?	62
	I am an inspector, I have completed my preparation, and it is time for the inspection meeting. What happens now?	62
	How does the moderator know if the inspectors are prepared?	63
	How does the moderator keep the meeting focused?	63
	What happens if the producer becomes defensive?	63
	How do you justify the preparation time required for an inspection?	64
	Why are inspection meetings limited to two hours? What happens if the meeting runs over?	64
	What information (if any) should be made public regarding inspections?	64
	When is the inspection officially complete?	64
5.2	Summary	64
	References	65
	Further reading	65
	Resources on the WWW	66
Chapter 6	Applying the inspection process	67
6.1	Attributes of a good process	68
6.2	Requirements inspections	70
6.3	Design inspection	74
6.4	Code inspection	78
6.5	Test procedure inspection	82
6.6	Summary	85
	References	85
Chapter 7	Software quality metrics	87
7.1	A strategy for implementing a software metrics program	89
7.2	Software quality metrics framework	90
7.3	Metrics that support software verification activities	101
7.4	Summary	105
	References	106
	Further information	106
Chapter 8	Configuration management	109
8.1	Software configuration management basics	111
8.2	Identification	116
8.3	Baseline management	119
	What baselines are required to be defined and managed?	120
	How is the current software configuration defined?	120
	Who must approve changes to baselines?	120
	How and where are baselines created and physically controlled?	120
	How are people informed of changes?	121
	How are baselines verified?	121
	Are baselines tied to project milestones?	121
	What information is required to process a change to a baseline?	121
	What tools, resources, and training are required to perform baseline change assessments?	122
	What metrics should be used to assess changes to a baseline?	122
	How are unauthorized changes to source code prevented, detected, and corrected?	123
	What tools, resources, and training are required to perform baseline management?	123
8.4	Auditing and reporting	124
8.5	Summary	127
	References	128
Part III	Overview of software validation activities	129
	Reference	130
Chapter 9	Testing	131
9.1	Testing: levels and methods	134
9.2	Testing procedures	135
9.3	Summary	147
	References	147
Chapter 10	Software validation metrics	149
10.1	Time measures	150
10.2	Test coverage metrics	153
10.3	Quality metric	154
10.4	Summary	157
	References	157
	Further information	157
Chapter 11	Software reliability growth	159
11.1	Definitions	160
11.2	The test-analyze-fix process	161
11.3	Reliability growth modeling	161
11.4	Summary	167
	References	168
Appendix A	Inspection roles and responsibilities	171
A.1	Roles	171
A.2	Responsibilities	172
Appendix B	A sample inspection process	177
B.1	Planning	178
B.2	Overview meeting (optional)	180
B.3	Preparation	181
B.4	Inspection meeting	182
B.5	Follow-up	184
Appendix C	Inspection process forms	187
Appendix D	Inspection checklists	191
D.1	Requirements inspection checklist	192
D.2	Design inspection checklist: high-level design	192
D.3	Design inspection checklist: detailed design	194
D.4	Code inspection checklist for C code	196
D.5	A C++ code inspection checklist	198
D.6	Test procedure inspection checklist	215
Appendix E	Attributes of good requirements specifications	217
Appendix F	Sample criteria for selecting modules for code inspection	219
Appendix G	Sample software development process based on the waterfall model	221
G.1	Requirements analysis phase	222
G.2	Requirements definition phase	223
G.3	Design phase	224
G.4	Coding phase	225
G.5	Testing phase	227
G.6	Maintenance phase	228
Appendix H	Document outlines	231
H.1	Product concept document	232
H.2	Software requirements specification (SRS)	233
H.3	Software design description (SDD)	235
H.4	Software development plan (SDP)	236
H.5	Software quality assurance plan (SQAP)	240
H.6	Software validation test plan	242
H.7	Software validation test procedure	245
H.8	Software validation test script	245
H.9	Software validation test report	247
H.10	Software configuration management plan	247
H.11	Software release procedure	249
Appendix I	Test cases for triangle program	251
	Reference	252
Appendix J	Software reliability models	253
J.1	Jelinski-Moranda model	254
J.2	Geometric model	254
J.3	Schick-Wolverton model	255
J.4	Goel-Okumoto nonhomogeneous poisson process	256
J.5	Generalized poisson model	256
J.6	Brooks-Motley model	257
	About the Author	259
	Index	261

Editorial Reviews

A reference for software quality assurance practitioners, software engineers, and project managers, providing practical methods for incorporating verification and validation techniques and activities into the entire software development process. Compares the various lifecycle models and discusses the inspection process, configuration management, reliability growth modeling, and other aspects. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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