A Software Defect Detection Methodology

This paper identifies baseline procedures for verifying software for individual, small team, and large team development efforts for mission-critical and non-mission-critical software. It is based on defect-based inspections and basis path testing. Basis path testing provides a unified approach for performing unit, integration, and functional tests, whereas defect-based inspections are primarily used for verifying requirement and design documents. However, in situations where practitioners cannot afford to be as thorough as basis path testing permits, several heuristics are defined for prioritizing the remaining verification efforts and deciding which technique to apply. In addition, several studies are discussed that identify the relative merit of various verification techniques.