Common Software Failures
- 1. Compiled By Arul Selvan P. Compiled By Arul Selvan P. Common Software Failures Categories 1) Boundary Related 2) Calculation Errors 3) Control Flow Errors 4) Error Handling 5) Hardware 6) Initialisation and Clearing 7) Load Conditions 8) Memory Faults 9) Mutation Faults 10) Race Conditions 11) Source, Version Control and ID 12) Testing Reports 13) User-Interface Errors # Failure Type Failure Point 1 Boundary Related Value above or below range 2 Boundary Related Boundaries in loop, space, time, memory 3 Boundary Related Mishandling of cases outside the boundary 4 Calculation Errors Wrong data type or data size 5 Calculation Errors Overflow or underflow in calculation 6 Calculation Errors Incorrect Algorithm 7 Calculation Errors Out of sequence event 8 Calculation Errors Failure to meet timing requirement 9 Calculation Errors Memory usage problems 10 Calculation Errors Bad Logic 11 Calculation Errors Bad Arithmetic 12 Calculation Errors Outdated constants 13 Calculation Errors Calculation errors 14 Calculation Errors Incorrect conversion from one data representation to another 15 Calculation Errors Wrong formula 16 Calculation Errors Incorrect approximation 17 Control Flow Errors Using a Big Loop 18 Control Flow Errors Wrong returning state assumed 19 Control Flow Errors Exception handling based exits 20 Control Flow Errors Stack underflow/overflow 21 Control Flow Errors Comparison sometimes yields wrong result 22 Control Flow Errors Missing/wrong default 23 Control Flow Errors Data Type errors 24 Error Handling Tests of user input 25 Error Handling Version control 26 Error Handling Ignores – overflow 27 Error Handling Data comparison 28 Error Handling Un-terminated null strings 29 Error Handling Overwriting a file after an error exit or user abort 30 Error Handling Error recovery – aborting errors 31 Hardware Wrong Device
- 2. Compiled By Arul Selvan P. Compiled By Arul Selvan P. 32 Hardware Device unavailable 33 Initialisation and Clearing Shared data corrupted 34 Initialisation and Clearing Use of uninitialized variables 35 Initialisation and Clearing Failure to - set data item to zero 36 Initialisation and Clearing Failure to initialize a loop-control variable 37 Initialisation and Clearing Failure to re-initialize a pointer 38 Initialisation and Clearing Failure to clear a string or flag 39 Initialisation and Clearing Incorrect initialization 40 Load Conditions Required resources are not available 41 Load Conditions No available large memory area 42 Load Conditions Low priority tasks not put off 43 Load Conditions Doesn't erase old files from mass storage 44 Load Conditions Doesn't return unused memory 45 Memory Faults Illegal Read and Write 46 Memory Faults Pointer too Large 47 Memory Faults Array Index out of Range 48 Memory Faults Memory Not Allocated 49 Memory Faults Buffer Overflow or Not Allocated 50 Memory Faults Illegal Reference to uninitialized variables 51 Mutation Faults Mutating the Arithmetic and Boolean operator 52 Mutation Faults Operands – Counter not incremented/decremented 53 Mutation Faults Incorrect Global Variables 54 Race Conditions Assumption that one event or task finished before another begins (Incorrect Timing) 55 Race Conditions Resource races 56 Race Conditions Tasks starts before its prerequisites are met 57 Race Conditions Messages cross or don't arrive in the order sent (Incorrect Sequencing) 58 Source, Version and ID Control Reusing an Interdependent Code 59 Source, Version and ID Control No Title or version ID 60 Source, Version and ID Control Failure to update multiple copies of data or program files 61 Testing Errors Failure to notice/report a problem 62 Testing Errors Failure to use the most promising test case 63 Testing Errors Corrupted data files 64 Testing Errors Misinterpreted specifications or documentation 65 Testing Errors Failure to make it clear how to reproduce the problem 66 Testing Errors Failure to check for unresolved problems just before release 67 Testing Errors Failure to verify fixes 68 Testing Errors Failure to provide summary report 69 User-Interface Errors Value in range but incorrect 70 User-Interface Errors Physical units incorrect 71 User-Interface Errors Incorrect operator input 72 User-Interface Errors Missing/Wrong Functions 73 User-Interface Errors Missing/Confusing information 74 User-Interface Errors Inappropriate error messages 75 User-Interface Errors Performance issues - Poor responsiveness