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A Taxonomy of Software Defect Forms for Certification Tests in Aviation Industry

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Computer Safety, Reliability, and Security (SAFECOMP 2023)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 14181))

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Abstract

The analysis of real software defects data not only helps to identify problems in a project, company, or industry but also enables continuous improvement in technologies and processes. In the Chinese aviation industry, a rigorous software quality assurance procedure is implemented, consisting of following a national process standard, conducting internal tests, expert milestone reviews, and formal documentation of all activities and results. After these quality assurance activities are completed, software systems undergo certification tests conducted by independent third-party centers. Discovering patterns of defects found in certification tests has significant practical implications for the industry on continuous improvement. This paper presents a taxonomy of defect forms based on the real defects found in 10 software systems, using Grounded Theory. The defect forms contain detailed information on how the defects are formed, compared to existing defect types. We then applied and validated this taxonomy on 9 additional software projects, using five software certification engineers independent of this paper. The results demonstrate that the developed taxonomy can describe the forms of 98% of defects found in certification tests. We recommend this taxonomy for process improvement and defect prevention in the aviation industry.

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Correspondence to Yichen Wang .

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Huang, F., Huang, B., Wang, Y., Wang, Y. (2023). A Taxonomy of Software Defect Forms for Certification Tests in Aviation Industry. In: Guiochet, J., Tonetta, S., Bitsch, F. (eds) Computer Safety, Reliability, and Security. SAFECOMP 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14181. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40923-3_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40923-3_5

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-40922-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-40923-3

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