Towards developing a software inspection model: preliminary empirical evidence

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of the artifact type on software inspections and proposes the addition of organizational factors to the Extended Behavioural Model for Performance of Software Inspections [14]. Five semi-structured interviews followed by a survey were conducted in a mature software development environment. Results of the study show that the inspection process and characteristics of inspectors are impacted by the artifact type on a number of dimensions. The results also show that a number of organizational factors impact on the inspection process, thus providing preliminary support to the proposed extension to the inspection model. Implications of this study for research and practice are discussed.