Risk Priority Number (RPN) – A Method for Software Defect Report Analysis

Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Webcast Series

Most software systems have "defects" identified by users or developers. For most systems, it is too costly to fix all of the concerns in the near term, and indeed some issues may never be addressed. The government program office (or other procuring organization) has an obligation to choose wisely among a set of competing defects to be repaired, especially in a financially constrained environment. RPN can help by quantifying three distinct attributes of failure in a composite measure which helps to structure objective analysis and decision making. This webinar will explain the component used in RPN and how it can help a program select between competing defects to best utilize constrained resources to help lower overall system risk.