Software defect-removal efficiency

Defect-removal efficiency-the percentage of bugs eliminated by software reviews, inspections and tests-is a powerful software quality metric that should be understood by everyone in the software business. Many top companies have used this metric since the 1960s. In fact, one of the most common attributes of "best in class" companies is that their software managers, programmers and quality assurance staff know their defect-removal efficiency levels. This rather simple metric can lead to some very sophisticated analyses and change "quality" from an ambiguous, amorphous term to a tangible factor.