What Can Be Done?

Mistakes can be made in many different areas of the software development effort. Coding defects are the most obvious, but mistakes can also occur in design, management, project planning, and other activities throughout the organization. It often seems that the only real guarantee is that mistakes will occur and some will cause software defects. Realizing this, most software development teams invest heavily in testing as their primary focus for eliminating defects before the defects can impact users.

Defect prevention requires investment with a different focus. An investment in defect prevention emphasizes a more proactive and cost-effective way to eliminate software defects. Rather than relying on testing to find software defects ...

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