On The Value of Code Inspections for Software Project Management: An Empirical Analysis

Code inspections continue to gain significance as a software verification scheme since Fagan introduced the concept. Software engineering researchers examining the value of code inspections have exclusively focused on defect removal benefits of inspections. In this paper we develop and test empirical models of both quality improvement and project management benefits realized because of effort spent on code inspections. We analyze data collected on 40 real world projects from a leading software corporation to provide rigorous empirical evidence for the value of code inspections. We find evidence for hitherto unexplored hypothesis that improved understanding gained during code inspection has project management benefit of better test planning and control that could eventually avoid project overruns. We provide a research framework that takes into account the sequential characteristics of waterfall software development model and the effects of rework generated by verification schemes to answer an important research question on the value of code inspections for project management.