A field study on the elicitation and classification of defects for defect models

Abstract

Background: Defect models capture faults and methods to provoke failures. To integrate such defect models into existing quality assurance processes, we developed a defect model lifecycle framework, in which the elicitation and classification of context-specific defects forms a crucial step. Although we could gather first insights from its practical application, we still have little knowledge about its benefits and limitations. Objective: We aim at qualitatively analyzing the contextspecific elicitation and classification of defects to explore the suitability of our approach for practical application. Method: We apply case study research in multiple contexts and analyze (1) what kind of defects we can elicit and the degree to which the defects matter to a context only, (2) the extent to which it leads to results useful enough for describing and operationalizing defect models, and (3) if there is a perceived additional immediate benefit from a practitioner’s perspective. Results: Our results strengthen our confidence on the suitability of our approach to elicit defects that are context-specific as well as context-independent. Conclusions: We conclude so far that our approach is suitable to provide a blueprint on how to elicit and classify defects for specific contexts to be used for the improvement of quality assurance techniques.