A Fagan inspection is a process of trying to find defects in documents (such as source code or formal specifications) during various phases of the software development process. It is named after Michael Fagan, who is credited with the invention of formal software inspections.
Fagan inspection defines a process as a certain activity with pre-specified entry and exit criteria. In every process for which entry and exit criteria are specified, Fagan inspections can be used to validate if the output of the process complies with the exit criteria specified for the process. Fagan inspection uses a group review method to evaluate the output of a given process.
Examples
Examples of activities for which Fagan inspection can be used are:
- Requirement specification
- Software/Information System architecture (for example DYA)
- Programming (for example for iterations in XP or DSDM)
- Software testing (for example when creating test scripts)
Usage
The software development process is a typical application of Fagan inspection. As the costs to remedy a defect are up to 10 to 100 times less in the early operations compared to fixing a defect in the maintenance phase, it is essential to find defects as close to the point of insertion as possible. This is done by inspecting the output of each operation and comparing that to the output requirements, or exit criteria, of that operation.
Criteria
Entry criteria are the criteria or requirements which must be met to enter a specific process. For example, for Fagan inspections the high- and low-level documents must comply with specific entry criteria before they can be used for a formal inspection process.
Exit criteria are the criteria or requirements which must be met to complete a specific process. For example, for Fagan inspections the low-level document must comply with specific exit criteria (as specified in the high-level document) before the development process can be taken to the next phase.
The exit criteria are specified in a high-level document, which is then used as the standard to which the operation result (low-level document) is compared during the inspection. Any failure of the low-level document to satisfy the high-level requirements specified in the high-level document are called defects
- Author/Designer/Coder: the person who wrote the low-level document
- Reader: paraphrases the low-level document
- Reviewers: reviews the low-level document from a testing standpoint
- Moderator: responsible for the inspection session, functions as a coach
- Recorder: documents the defects
Benefits and results
By using inspections the number of errors in the final product can significantly decrease, creating a higher quality product. In the future the team will even be able to avoid errors as the inspection sessions give them insight into the most frequently made errors in both design and coding providing avoidance of error at the root of their occurrence. By continuously improving the inspection process these insights can even further be used. for example has been researching the usage of an Electronic Meeting System (EMS) to improve the productivity of the meetings with positive results
Other researchers propose the usage of software that keeps a database of detected errors and automatically scans program code for these common errors. This again should result in improved productivity.
References
Ron Radice, High Quality, Low Cost Software Inspections,
Paradoxicon Publishing (September 21, 2001)