The following article is part of the self-preparation for the modern BVOP® Project Management Certification program.
The BVOP presents defect analysis as a practice and tool for analyzing problems in development teams, organizations, management practices, or the environment.
A defect may refer to issue, bug, incident, error, flaw, failure, malfunction. The common understanding of a defect is an incorrect or unexpected result or behavior of the product.
The BVOP suggests defining categories for all defects, investigating the root causes for their occurrence, and adding each one to a suitable category.
Defects categories
Defects categories may include:
- Time pressure
- General Stress
- Scope misunderstanding
- Scope change
- Poor requirements
- Lack of communication
Time pressure
Time pressure may be a reason for the occurrence of defects. When deadlines press teams, they may miss important details, or work quality may drop.
If defects in this category are predominant, this may be an indication of too short deadlines.
Corrective actions to reduce future defects in this category may include rechecking and negotiations of deadlines.
General Stress
Stress may be the cause of defects. When people are under stress, productivity, proactivity, and confidence decline. The defects in this category must be distinguished from the Time Pressure one.
Causes of general stress may vary, but common ones may include:
- Management attitude
- Personal conflicts
- Cultural differences
- Organizational policy
- Organizational stability
- Environment
Representatives of the BVOPM office are the main initiators to involve all the offices and their representatives in solving the problems.
Scope misunderstanding
If the scope of the project is not communicated extensively at early planning stages or details are missing, this may lead to many defects categorized in this category at later development or implementation stages.
Another reason for the defects in this category may be insufficient technical or business knowledge among the key roles involved in the project.
Corrective actions to reduce the defects in this category may include revisiting the details of the project scope, technical training, and familiarizing key roles with the business logic of the project.
Scope change
Defects in this category may reveal problems in multiple areas such as:
- Clients or users are not completely aware of their needs.
- Development or implementation progress is slower than the users' demand.
- Lack of resources or newly introduced optimizations have changed the scope of the project.
- Additional requests from users or stakeholders that may not be needed.
Poor requirements
Defects in this category may be caused by a deficiency of:
- Detailing
- Quality documentation
- Technical or design expertise
- Documented verbal agreements
Corrective actions to reduce the defects in this category can be sessions between team members discussing the requirements before starting the actual work and potential improvement of requirements.
The sketches, diagrams, animations, or functional prototypes that product developers create, present the work needed to be developed. They can be used by demanding parties for validation.
Lack of communication
Communication is essential for any project, development, and business initiative. Lack of communication may relate to:
- General slow communication
- Intentionally ignoring important topics
- Missing important contexts
- Virtual or distant teams
- Low employee morale
- Conflicts
The BVOPM office investigates the core reasons for the problems and makes efforts to resolve them. The categories with the highest number of defects should be given closer attention.
The following issues related to chapter "Defects analysis" are included in the certification exam. The sequence of questions is presented in the table.
The data is current as of May 27, 2023, 1:42 am
| ID | Issue | Time | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Scope change | 60 sec | PM, PDM |
| 1 | Scope misunderstanding | 60 sec | PM, PDM |
| 2 | Poor requirements | 60 sec | PM, PDM |
| 3 | Time pressure | 60 sec | PM, PDM |
| 4 | General Stress | 60 sec | PM, PDM |
| 5 | Lack of communication | 60 sec | PM, PDM |
Comments from the BVOP™ community on “Defects analysis”
Summary
BVOP uses defect analysis to identify issues in development teams, management practices, or the environment.
A defect is an issue that can be referred to as a bug, incident, error, flaw, failure, or malfunction. It typically results in unexpected behavior or incorrect results from a product. The BVOP recommends categorizing all defects, investigating their root causes, and assigning them to the appropriate category.
Types of defects may include time pressure, stress, scope misunderstandings or changes, poor requirements, and communication issues.
Time pressure and general stress can both lead to defects in work. Short deadlines may cause teams to miss important details, while stress can decrease productivity and confidence. To reduce defects caused by time pressure, rechecking and negotiations of deadlines may be necessary. Causes of general stress can include management attitude, personal conflicts, cultural differences, organizational policy, organizational stability, and environment. The BVOPM office is responsible for involving all offices in finding solutions to these problems.
Incomplete communication of project scope and insufficient knowledge among key roles may lead to defects in later stages. To reduce such defects, revisit project scope details, provide technical training, and familiarize key roles with business logic. Defects in scope change may indicate issues with clients/users' needs, slow progress, lack of resources, or unnecessary requests.
Defects in software requirements may be caused by poor detailing, quality documentation, technical/design expertise, or undocumented verbal agreements. To reduce these defects, team members should discuss requirements before starting work and aim to improve them through sketches, diagrams, animations, or functional prototypes. Lack of communication can also lead to issues, such as slow communication, ignoring important topics, missing contexts, virtual/distant teams, low morale, and conflicts. The BVOPM office investigates core reasons for problems and prioritizes categories with the highest number of defects.
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