A three-step hybrid specification approach to error prevention

Abstract Effectively preventing errors in requirements analysis and design is extremely important for enhancing software productivity and reliability, but how to fulfil this goal remains an open problem. In this paper, we propose a concept of hybrid specification and describe a novel three-step hybrid specification approach to address this problem. We discuss how the three-step approach can be used to effectively prevent errors in the early phases of development. The expected effect of the approach is to strike a good balance between enhancing productivity and ensuring the reliability of the program implemented. We present a controlled experiment to evaluate the effectiveness of the approach. The result of the experiment shows that our method can detect and prevent 28.36% more errors than a comparable traditional requirements analysis method.