ABSTRACT
Executive summary: The term “cleanroom” alludes to the highly controlled rooms used in semiconductor manufacturing to prevent introduction of dust or defects during chip fabrication. The software flavor of cleanrooms was developed by the late Dr. Harlan Mills of IBM. Software CSE is based on five principles: (1) formal specification; (2) incremental development; (3) structured programming; (4) static verification using rigorous inspections (no testing at the unit or module level); and (5) statistically based testing at the system level based on an operational profile. CSE is not widely used, as many believe it is too theoretical, too mathematical, and too radical because it relies on correctness verification and statistical quality control rather than unit testing. Successful deployment requires highly motivated and experienced teams. The CSE process was developed by Harlan Mills and others at IBM during the 1980s. Demonstration projects in the U.S. military began during the 1990s.
