Defect prevention through defect prediction: a case study at Infosys

Abstract

This paper is an experience report of a software process model which will help in preventing defects through defect prediction. The paper gives a vivid description of how the model aligns itself to business goals and also achieves various quality and productivity goals by predicting the number and type of defects well in advance and corresponding preventive action taken to reduce the occurrence of defects. Data have been collected from the case study of a live project in INFOSYS Technologies Limited, India. A project team always aims at a zero defect software or a quality product with as few a defects as possible. To deliver a defect free software, it is imperative that in the process of development maximum number of defects are captured and fixed them before we deliver to the customer. In other words our process model should help us detect maximum number of defects possible through various Quality Control activities. Also the process model should be able to predict defects and should help us to detect them quite early. Defects can be reduced in two ways - (i) By detecting it at each and every stage in the project life cycle or (ii) By preventing to occur.