RESOURCES:

A History of Software Inspections by Michael Fagan, sd&m Conference 2001

The Best Influences on Software Engineering, IEEE Software,, January/February 2000

Advances in Software Inspections, IEEE Transactions On Software Engineering, July 1986

"Design and code inspections to reduce errors in program development," by Michael Fagan, IBM Systems Journal, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 182-211 Copyright 1976 by International Business Machines Corporation. Reprinted with permission of the IBM Systems Journal, Vol. 15, No. 3

Our three day course is designed for groups of 24 people organized into six teams of four. A team comprises engineers and managers who work on the same projects.

A detailed lecture is provided on Improved Fagan Inspections and Continuous Process Improvement. Roles are then assigned to each inspector/team member for the following tasks:

CASE STUDY I: A case study is performed by each team to inspect real product code that they bring to the class. Results are analyzed and presented to the class.

CODE INSPECTION: Economics are calculated from the case study data showing NET saving of effort, and ROI of the inspections.

MANAGEMENT REVIEW: Each team inspects real product requirements that they bring to the class. Results are analyzed and presented to the class. Each team presents a problem that will inhibit them from implementing what they have learned starting right after the class, and what they will do remove the problem. Senior management attends these presentations. Immediate introduction and improvements are expected.

The effectiveness in finding defects of Fagan Inspections is metrically calibrated.