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Statistical Software Engineering (1996) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Pages 1-4

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From page 1...
... Central to this report's theme, and essential to statistical software engineenng, is the role of data: wherever data are used or can be generated in the software life cycle, statistical methods can be brought to bear for description, estimation, and prediction. Nevertheless, the major obstacle to applying statistical methods to software engineering is the lack of consistent, highquality data in the resource-allocation, design, review, implementation, and test stages of software development.
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From page 2...
... Statistical challenges in software engineering discussed in this report include the following: · Generalizing particular statistical software engineering experimental results to other settings and projects, Scaling up results obtained in academic studies to industrial settings, Combining information across software engineering projects and studies, Adopting exploratory data analysis and visualization techniques, Educating the software engineering community regarding statistical approaches and data Issues, Developing methods of analysis to cope with qualitative variables, 2
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From page 3...
... for data collection and analysis that ensures the availability of highquality data for staffsffcal approaches to issues in software engineering. Careful attention to data issues ranging from definition of metrics to feed-back/-forward loops, including exploratory data analysis, statistical modeling, defect analysis, and so on, is essential if statistical methods are to have any appreciable impact on a given software project under study.
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From page 4...
... Graphics is important in exploratory stages in helping to ascertain how complex a model the data ought to support; in the analysis stage, by which residuals are displayed to examine what the currently entertained model has failed to account for; and in the presentation stage, in which graphics can provide succinct and ^~r;~;~f~ I__ ~~ stem ~:_~:__1 _ _1~ ~ ^1_ _ _ UllVlll~lll~g tiUlilillilIlt;b OI me slallsllca1 analysis and the associated uncertainty. r _ _l _-~ ~ i- -I it' ~-r~ ~ ~~ ~ the huge v 1suallzatlon can neln software engineers carte with ~n`1 ,~nfler~t~nr1 quantities of data collected as part of the software development process.
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Key Terms

  • software development
  • software engineers
  • statistical software
  • data issues
  • statistical approaches

  • statistical challenges
  • designed experiments
  • engineering projects
  • engineering community
  • engineering concerns

  • statistical sciences
  • applying statistical
  • statistical issues
  • conclusions appear
  • major obstacle

  • statistical thinking
  • generalizing particular
  • issues ranging
  • engineering combines
  • largest contributions

  • increased understanding
  • introductory opening
  • thereby enhance
  • chapter intended
  • statisticians contribute

  • report attempts
  • defect analysis
  • development processes
  • space shuttle
  • community learns


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