Experiences with defect prevention

  • Authors:

  • R. G. Mays;C. L. Jones;G. J. Holloway;D. P. Studinski

  • Affiliations:

  • IBM Communication Systems, P.O. Box 12195, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina;IBM Communication Systems, P.O. Box 12195, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina;IBM Communication Systems, P.O. Box 12195, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina;IBM Communication Systems, P.O. Box 12195, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

  • Venue:
  • IBM Systems Journal
  • Year:
  • 1990

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Abstract

Defect Prevention is the process of improving quality and productivity by preventing the injection of defects into a product. It consists of four elements integrated into the development process: (1) causal analysis meetings to identify the root cause of defects and suggest preventive actions; (2) an action team to implement the preventive actions; (3) kickoff meetings to increase awareness of quality issues specific to each development stage; and (4) data collection and tracking of associated data. The Defect Prevention Process has been successfully implemented in a variety of organizations within IBM, some for more than six years. This paper discusses the steps needed to implement this process and the results that may be obtained. Data on quality, process costs, benefits, and practical experiences are also presented. Insights into the nature of programming errors and the application of this process to a variety of working environments are discussed.