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WHITEPAPER:Source Code Analysis in an Agile World
To keep pace with ever-increasing customer demands on software functionality and time-to-market expectations, software developers have had to evolve the way they develop code to be both faster and higher quality [...]
WHITEPAPERS:Generating Accurate, Scalable Whole Program Analysis
a candid discussion of the cost savings, productivity and quality benefits that can be achieved by stabilizing builds and code quality as early in the development cycle as possible [...]
RESEARCH: Research Report: Improving Software By Reducing Coding Defects (Exclusive Defect Detection report from New Rowley Group)
Software coding defects increase the cost of development and support, tarnish a company's reputation, and limit revenue opportunities [...]
Solutions - Code Review
Improve the productivity of peer code reviews
Ensuring quality software
The peer code review is an important component of a comprehensive approach to software verification, along with developer training and automated source code analysis. Peer code reviews involve software developers reviewing each other's code to find and correct errors. The reviews can be a very effective method for removing defects, familiarizing new programmers with the code, and reducing costs.
Some studies have shown that formal code reviews can achieve a 65% defect removal rate* while also reducing costs and schedule. Because the reviews are done early in the process, downstream development milestones such as integration builds and testing are no longer bogged down with coding errors that could have been found and corrected earlier in the process.
A range of techniques
A code review can be conducted using a number of different approaches. More formal code reviews, also known as code inspections, are often based on a well-known methodology called the Fagan inspection. This is a detailed process involving multiple, well defined phases, where each participant has specific roles.
Most organizations opt for a lighter-weight process that involves informal code walk-throughs and critiques supported by tools and documentation. Methodologies such as Extreme Programming (XP) have introduced a newer approach called pair programming, in which code is authored by two developers at the same time.
Improving code reviews with source code analysis
Due to the time and resource commitment required, code reviews are often the most dreaded form of software verification. The use of Klocwork automated source code analysis at the developer's desktop can dramatically improve the productivity of the code review process. By eliminating common coding errors and defects, Klocwork enables peer code reviews to focus on critical design and functional issues. Additionally, Klocwork's architecture and code visualization module gives developers a view of the system's control flow, enabling review participants to easily understand the flow of the code under review.
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Read how Klocwork ensures code reviews don't become a productivity bottleneck
*Jones, Capers. Measuring Defect Potentials and Defect Removal Efficiency®. Software Productivity Research, LLC, June 2008.