In September school starts. This semester I am only taking one class, CS780 Software Reliability and Testing. I'll be posting some notes about the class and some homework here. Join in the discussion to help me get an A.

First up is an assignment about DSC Communication Corp. and problems with telephony code.

Notes on the paper, "Testing Time Cut on Software Linked to Phone Outages." Balt. Sun , Leslie Cauley:

  • They took the risk that they didn't need to test the changes. What risk management did they have in place? What processes and procedures allowed them to accept the changes?

  • Would the changes have been caught in the first place? Did they have tests to catch this type of problem? Did they have regression testing? Would their test plan have caught this issue?

  • It was rather costly issue: 200 engineers on a bug hung!

  • How old is the system in use?

  • There was a mention of the regulation of the industry prevented them from acting quickly to identify the problem. Why is that an issue? Can't the Bells ask for better testing from their suppliers? Insist on it in their contracts?


Links to more information:

  1. comp.risks digest forum post about the root cause.

  2. A Google Search for any information about this problem.

  3. More about the liability issues facing the company.

  4. More about the problem



If you have any help, please post it in comments.

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