Development of a methodology for classifying software errors

Abstract

A mathematical formalization of the intuition behind classification of software errors is devised and then extended to a classification discipline: Every classification scheme should have an easily discernible mathematical structure and certain properties of the scheme should be decidable (although whether or not these properties hold is relative to the intended use of the scheme). Classification of errors then becomes an iterative process of generalization from actual errors to terms defining the errors together with adjustment of definitions according to the classification discipline. Alternatively, whenever possible, small scale models may be built to give more substance to the definitions. The classification discipline and the difficulties of definition are illustrated by examples of classification schemes from the literature and a new study of observed errors in published papers of programming methodologies.