Cleanroom Software Engineering is a process for developing high quality software with certified reliability. The name “Cleanroom” comes from the electronics industry, where production rooms are physically clean to prevent the introduction of defects during the hardware manufacturing process. Cleanroom Software Engineering is a set of principles and practices for software management; specification, design, and testing that help improve software quality, increase productivity, and reduce cost. This is achieved by emphasising defect prevention rather than defect removal. The Cleanroom approach to software and web development is based on five key strategies:
Formal Specification:
The software to be developed is formally specified. A state-transition model which shows system responses to stimuli is used to express the specification.
Structured Programming:
Only a limited number of control and data abstraction constructs are used. The program development process is a process of stepwise refinement of the specification. A limited number of constructs are used and the aim is to apply correctness-preserving transformations to the specification to create the program code.
Incremental Development:
The software is partitioned into increments which are developed and validated separately using the Cleanroom process. These increments are specified, with customer input, at an early stage in the process.
Static Verification:
The developed software is statically verified using rigorous software inspections. There is no unit or module testing process for code components.
Statistical Testing of The System:
The integrated software increment is tested statistically, to determine its reliability. These statistical tests are based on an operational profile which is developed in parallel with the system specification.
Cleanroom differs from other formal methods in that it doesn't require mathematically defined requirements—those stated in plain English are adequate. These requirements are divided into tagged statements for traceability. The process of tagging requirements in small verifiable statements allows for tracing and verification of each requirement throughout the process.
Cleanroom Software Engineering is comprised of four different processes:
- Management
- Specification
- Development
- Certification
A separate team is required for each of these processes to ensure the highest quality product. If one team is responsible for multiple processes the overall quality of the product may be reduced.
Cleanroom Software Engineering has been around for over Thirty years. It ensures high-quality software with certified-reliability and has led to major improvements over other software methods. The Cleanroom method has evolved throughout the years and has been incorporated in many new software practices.
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