Types of Software Defects

A semantic software defect (the focus of this research) is defined as a non-syntactic defect that causes a software artifact or resulting system not to have the functionality, performance, security, usability, maintainability, testability or other qualities necessary for the purposes of the system. In other words, software defects are defined in terms of missing qualities. Other research reviewed is not inconsistent with this approach. For example, Boehm et al. [1978] and Bass et al. [1998] develop typologies of software qualities, and the definition in Grady [1992, 122] of a defect as "any flaw in the specification, design, or implementation of a product" inherently includes software qualities. Therefore, the primary focus of the first section below is on typologies of software qualities. The second section reviews other software defect typologies, and the third section discusses the development of the typology used in this research.