PROVEN “SHIFT-LEFT” QUALITY FRAMEWORK
FOR EARLY DEFECT DETECTION

Reduce Software Testing Costs and Improve Quality

REQUIREMENTS TESTING FRAMEWORK

Industry experts claim that almost 70% of errors occur during design and coding phase of SDLC. Most importantly, the cost of fixing a defect is lowest in the requirements phase of the SDLC than any other phase. Once the requirements are thoroughly reviewed for ambiguities, there will be a greater efficiency in the processes and deliverables of SDLC and STLC. Research reveals it is 100 times costlier to fix a defect in UAT/Production than during the requirements stage

In most of the IT projects, the importance of validating the ‘Requirement specifications’ is often overlooked. Unclear, inconsistent, and incomplete requirements trigger a negative effect in subsequent phases of SDLC & STLC leading to poor quality code and invalid test cases in UAT & Production. Cigniti’s Requirements Testing Framework (RTF) solution helps eliminate ambiguities in the requirement phase of the STLC and prevents the defects from propagating to the subsequent phases of the STLC.

To ensure early detection, Cigniti has developed the Requirement Testing Framework (RTF) which helps eliminate ambiguities in the requirement phase of the STLC and prevents the defects from propagating to the subsequent phases of the STLC. This framework performs a holistic analysis of requirements across four parameters: Consistency, Clarity, Completeness, and Testability. Cigniti has also developed a comprehensive requirements review process to ensure effective identification of ambiguous requirements.

REQUIREMENTS TESTING FRAMEWORK FEATURES

Cigniti’s Requirement Testing Framework (RTF) helps reduce ambiguities in the requirement phase of the STLC and prevents the defects from propagating to the subsequent phases of the STLC. The RTF helps to:

Reduce defect leakage into production
Increase the Testability of the requirements
Aims at finding defects in the requirements phase
Identify requirements ambiguities early in the test life cycle
Improve how requirements are defined, captured, and communicated
Baseline high-quality requirements, thereby reducing rework in the downstream phases

Benefits:
Following are the benefits provided by RTF:

Enables testers flag poor quality requirements
Over 40% reduction in post-production defects
Over 30% cost savings through early defect detection
Optimized SDLC & STLC with clear requirements
Provides unified view of understanding for all stakeholders
Ability to detect over 60% of defects during requirements phase
Introduces defect management lifecycle to track ambiguous requirements
Strengthens the process of defining, capturing and communicating requirements
Promotes lean documentation, and is effectively used in Agile and Waterfall models

CIGNITI’S REQUIREMENT TESTING CHECKLIST

Cigniti’s Requirements Testing Framework aims to identify poor quality requirements and reduce defect leakage to subsequent phases. This framework is simple yet powerful in validating requirements and eliciting non-functional requirements thereby improving overall testability. The tool supports multiple life cycle models (Agile, Waterfall, Hybrid) and integrates evolving requirements. Requirements Testing Framework validates the requirements against parameters namely Clarity, Consistency, Completeness, and Testability.

Cigniti has deployed this framework across several engagements improving early defect detection. The results from the initial pilot of Requirements Testing Framework have encouraged CIOs to make it an organization-wide initiative.