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A root cause analysis method for preventing erratic behavior in software development: PEBA

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  • Mohammadnazar, Hojat
  • Pulkkinen, Mirja
  • Ghanbari, Hadi

Abstract

Measures taken to prevent faults from being introduced or going undetected can secure development of highly reliable software systems. One such measure is analyzing root causes of recurring faults and preventing them from appearing again. Previous methods developed for this purpose have been reactive in nature and relied heavily on fault reporting mechanisms of ogranizations. Additionally, previous efforts lack a defined mechanism for innovating corrective actions. In this study, we strive to complement the existing methods by introducing a proactive and qualitative method that does not rely on fault data. During the course of the research, in addition to an extensive literature search, an empirical field study is conducted with representatives of companies active in safety-critical and business-critical domains. Our proposed method relies on identifying mismatches between development practices and development context in order to predict erratic behaviors. Corrective actions in this method are innovated by resolving these mismatches. The use of the method is demonstrated in two safety-critical projects. Evaluation of the proposed method is done by two experts with respect to proactivity, resource-intensity, and effectiveness.

Suggested Citation

  • Mohammadnazar, Hojat & Pulkkinen, Mirja & Ghanbari, Hadi, 2019. "A root cause analysis method for preventing erratic behavior in software development: PEBA," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:reensy:v:191:y:2019:i:c:s0951832018309396
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ress.2019.106565
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Favarò, Francesca M. & Jackson, David W. & Saleh, Joseph H. & Mavris, Dimitri N., 2013. "Software contributions to aircraft adverse events: Case studies and analyses of recurrent accident patterns and failure mechanisms," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 131-142.
    2. Robert D. Austin & Lee Devin, 2009. "Research Commentary ---Weighing the Benefits and Costs of Flexibility in Making Software: Toward a Contingency Theory of the Determinants of Development Process Design," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 20(3), pages 462-477, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Huang, Jia & You, Jian-Xin & Liu, Hu-Chen & Song, Ming-Shun, 2020. "Failure mode and effect analysis improvement: A systematic literature review and future research agenda," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).

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