Datasheet

4 ■ Optimize Quality for Business Outcomes
 Reliable estimates (5%)
 Other criteria (5%)
While we expected to see executive support and experienced
project management, we were interested in other noteworthy
elements like user involvement, clear business objectives, and
firm basic requirements on the list.
All three of those factors have to do with the end user or the
business, which leads us to the next question: Why is user
involvement so important?
The answer lies in the following statistics (Figure 2), based on a
2002 study conducted by the National Institute of Science and
Technology (NIST).
Figure 2: Comparison of where defects are introduced against
where they are discovered
Figure 2 shows that most defects are introduced in the require-
ments phase of the traditional software development lifecycle
(SDLC).
MQM.book Page 4 Wednesday, May 7, 2008 11:29 AM