Using group support systems for software inspections

Software engineering sometimes appears to be years behind other disciplines in terms of predictability and quality. But we like to argue that the software industry is facing problems now that other industries have yet to face. Constructing a high-quality, million-line program is daunting. Fortunately, progress is occurring and merging two important areas: software process improvement and technological support. The authors describe their experience implementing a group support system (GSS) for software inspections in an industrial environment. The results confirm their belief that such support can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of inspections, provided the inspections are properly conducted