Defect Attribution Guidelines

- Shankar KN

Contents

1 2 3 4

Causal Analysis and its purpose List of Causes present in IPMS Definition for Causes References

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Causal Analysis and its purpose

Causal Analysis

Causal analysis is a method to find the root causes of a defect or problem

Purpose  To analyze defects and problems relating to quality in a systematic manner and to
initiate corrective as well as preventive measures with a view to avoid/minimize recurrence of the same in future phases/projects

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List of Causes present in IPMS

IPMS Causes

Inadequate Input Inadequate Standards Inadequate Skill Inadequate Training/Induction Inadequate Documentation Inadequate Communication Inapplicable/Inappropriate Method/Process Inadequacy of Tool Inherited Defects Reviewer's Misunderstanding/Misconception

Inadequate Environment/Infrastructure Inadequate Planning Inappropriate use of DP checklist Inappropriate use of Standards Lack of Business/Application Knowledge Inadequate test plan or cases Inadequate Checklist Inadequate Self Reviews Inadequate V&V of CSP or Reusable Components Suggestions

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Definition for Causes

Ambiguous/ Incorrect/ Erroneous Inputs from Client Incomplete Inputs for the activity from the project team Inadequate test data or test specifications Incomplete/ Inadequate Inputs from Clients Test Specifications do not exist The input required to complete review was not sufficient

Inadequate Input

Inadequate Skill

The person is not technically skilled Lack of technical knowledge Skill does not meet the requirement Not skilled in analysis / design techniques

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Definition for Causes

contd

Inadequate Documentation

Adequate documentation not available for the process/work Implicit requirements not being documented Defects were introduced because impact analysis of change was not documented properly Templates do not specify what needs to be documented Insufficient comments are used to describe the purpose Insufficient discrimination between defined items Item definition inconsistent and distributed. Incomplete/Incorrect Traceability Document Explanation not proper/incomplete in the work item which is used as input to the subsequent phases

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Definition for Causes

contd

Inadequate Training/Induction

Ineffective training Untrained Resources Ineffective project induction Training not imparted at the right time

Inadequacy of Tool

Problem with the tool used Limitation of the tool Defect was introduced due to a change made in a reusable component Incompatibility of a tool being used in the project with other tools being used

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Definition for Causes

contd

Inadequate Planning

Not Enough time allocated to complete the activity and hence error occurred Inadequate Testing by the programmer Inability to identify functional experts in team. Improper handling of changes. Inadequacy of tool used for planning. Tendency to give too many features. Improper selection/omission of optional processes.

Inadequate Standards

Standards document is not complete and there are missing coding or documentation standards Project Standards for the phase are incorrect or incomplete Project standards are so generic, that it is difficult to follow them Non-existent project standards

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Definition for Causes

contd

Inadequate Communication

Lack of effective communication within the offshore team or between onsite-offshore team. (For example: Change in Standards not being communicated within the team) Obsolete standards or input document used No minutes of meeting prepared Misinterpretation of information Issues not tracked / resolved Inadequate Communication Skills No proper communication between developer and end user Different perspective of the situation / problem / requirement Lack of feedback mechanism Inadequate coordination among the team Improper coordination between relevant groups

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Definition for Causes

contd

Lack of Business/ Application Knowledge Inadequate V&V of CSP or Reusable Components

The person is inexperienced in the Business Application

A defect has occurred because the review of other items was not complete

Inadequate Self Reviews

All the defects, which are caused due to oversight, will be attributed to this cause No self reviews

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Definition for Causes

contd

Inapplicable/ inappropriate methodology or process

A defect occurred because the project followed a process not defined in iQMS or OSSP

Inadequate Checklist

Checklist is incorrect/incomplete Non-existent Checklist Checklist is not used OR not followed in appropriate places Schedule pressure leads to bypass examining product against checklist

Inappropriate use of DP checklist

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Definition for Causes

contd

Inappropriate use of Standards

Standards Document is not used OR Standards are not followed in appropriate places

Inadequate test plan or case

Test Plan or Test Cases are incomplete in the earlier phases

Inherited Defects

Typically used in Maintenance / Conversion / Migration / Reengineering projects where we get the application to be worked upon. The existing application has some bugs, which were detected during the code walkthrough or testing.

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Definition for Causes

contd

Reviewer's Misunderstanding /Misconception

Reviewer is not aware of the functionality, Reviewer's perception was different from author, in case where the defect is a misunderstanding on reviewer's part and it is to be rejected. Reviewer does not have domain knowledge for the same Misunderstanding of module function/Program segment function Misunderstanding concerning the module function and their relationship to system function Improper co-ordination between reviewer and developer When the right kind of hardware or software is not available (server issues etc) which has given rise to a defect Coding / Testing environment incomplete Testing environment not in sync with production / client Acceptance environment Inadequate/Incorrect/Incomplete Software Upgrade

Inadequate Environment/ Infrastructure

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Definition for Causes

contd

Suggestions

This is to take care of those changes suggested by the reviewer, which cannot be classified under any other defect category. These changes may include change in format of an error message, colour/size of any UI element etc. Cause to be used only for severity "Suggestion"

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References

TCS-iQMS-052(PPM-Project Procedures Manual) PP3090 : CAUSAL ANALYSIS; Appendix A

URL: https://iqmskm.ultimatix.net/km/index.php/PPM_A

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Thank You

9 February 2012