Which inspection approach is based on sampling of work products and/or specifications?

Agile Specification Quality Control (ASQC) is a formal inspection method adapted for agile environments that uses statistical sampling. Instead of reviewing 100% of the specifications, which can be time-consuming, a statistically valid sample of work products (like user stories) is selected for detailed inspection. The defect rate found in the sample is used to estimate the quality of the entire set. This approach provides a quantitative measure of quality while aligning with agile principles of speed and efficiency, allowing teams to decide if the batch of specifications is ready for development or requires further refinement.

A. Fagan Inspection: This is a highly structured, formal inspection process that requires a 100% review of the work product, not a sample, to find all possible defects.
C. Walkthrough: A walkthrough is a less formal peer review where the author presents the work product; it is not based on a statistical sampling methodology.
D. Status Meeting: This is a project management activity focused on reporting progress and discussing issues, not a quality inspection technique for work products.

1. Gilb, T. (2005). Competitive Engineering: A Handbook for Systems Engineering, Requirements Engineering, and Software Engineering Using Planguage. Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann. Chapter 10, "Specification Quality Control," details the process of using sampling to check requirements documents for defects at a tolerable level.

2. PeopleCert. (2022). Certified Agile Business Analyst (CABA) Official Guidance. Section 4.3.2, "Agile Specification Quality Control (ASQC)," describes ASQC as a sampling-based technique to ensure specifications meet their quality targets before development begins.

3. Wiegers, K., & Beatty, J. (2013). Software Requirements (3rd ed.). Microsoft Press. Chapter 20, "Requirements Verification," discusses various review types, distinguishing formal inspections like Fagan's from sampling-based approaches suitable for agile projects. ASQC is presented as an example of the latter.