Abstract: Software inspections have been found to be one of the most effective ways to promote quality and productivity in software development. Inspections are an especially important tactic to use during the analysis and design phases of software development since the correction of a defect found early in development can be 10 to 100 times less expensive to fix than rework performed at the system testing stage. Given its prominence within the software field, it is surprising that the software inspection process does not receive more attention with respect to education in the area of Systems Analysis and Design. The purpose of this article is to present an experiential exercise for the Systems Analysis and Design course that may be used to promote learning with respect to the software inspection process. The focal point of the exercise is a system specification document that describes the user requirements for a system for a fictional real estate company. The specification document includes three components that are typical of a specification document: a descriptive narrative overview, a project dictionary, and data flow diagrams (DFDs). Survey results regarding students' perceptions of the exercise are also discussed.

Keywords: Software inspection, Software quality, Systems analysis, Education, Data flow diagram, System specification

Download this article: JISE - Volume 17 Number 3, Page 341.pdf

Recommended Citation: Tyran, C. K. (2006). A Software Inspection Exercise for the Systems Analysis and Design Course. Journal of Information Systems Education, 17(3), 341-351.