Applying program comprehension techniques to improve software inspections
Stan Rifkin, Lionel E. Deimel · NASA Technical Reports Server (NASA) · 1994
: Software inspections are widely regarded as a cost-effective mechanism for removing defects in software, though performing them does not always reduce the number of customer-discovered defects. We present a case study in which an attempt was made to reduce such defects through inspection training that introduced program comprehension ideas. The training was designed to address the problem of understanding the artifact being reviewed, as well as other perceived deficiencies of the inspection process itself. Measures, both formal and informal, suggest that explicit training in program understanding may improve inspection effectiveness. The software technical review is a widely-recommended mechanism for software defect removal. Such reviews go by many names---inspections, Fagan-style inspections, code reviews, peer reviews, formal reviews---and exhibit significant variations among organizations [Fagan, Freedman, Gilb]. All such review methods rely on the self-evident notion that softwar...