Defect Prevention Process

The first step in preventing defects is to understand the critical risks facing the project or system.  The best way to do this is to identify the types of defects that pose the largest threat.  In short, they are the defects that could jeopardize the successful construction, delivery and/or operation of the system.  These risks can vary widely from project to project depending on the type of system, the technology, the users of the software, etc.  These risks might include:

Missing a key requirement

Critical application software that does not function properly

Vendor supplied software does not function properly

Performance is unacceptably poor

Hardware malfunction

Hardware and/or software does not integrate properly

Hardware new to installation site

Hardware not delivered on-time

Users unable or unwilling to embrace new system

User's inability to actively participate in project

Etc.

It should be emphasized that the purpose of this step is not to identify every conceivable risk, but to identify those critical risks that merit special attention because they could jeopardize the success of the project.