Setting Standards for Computer Program Source Code

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We advise you to inspect software because it offers an immediate AND long term Return on Investment:

Immediate Return on Investment—Code inspection pays for itself during development, isolates defects much more efficiently than testing, and has been shown to reduce maintenance costs by 90%. This statement is founded upon these research findings:

• Quality processes reduce errors without increasing costs,
• Inspections cut rework by half,
• Inspected software costs 90% less to maintain,
• Inspection catches 70% of defects,
• Inspection catches 60% more errors than testing,
• 85% of errors are trivial.

Long lasting Return on Investment—Inspection saves time otherwise wasted on bug-fixing, rework and other repair activities and has been shown to make developers 20% more productive. This statement is founded upon these research findings:

• An hour of inspection saves 100 hours of work,
• An hour of inspection saves 30 hours of maintenance,
• Developers who inspect code are at least 20% more productive,
• Developers find the majority of defects when preparing for code reviews,
• Code inspection is four times more effective than testing.

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