A systematic mapping study on the combination of static and dynamic quality assurance techniques

Context: A lot of different quality assurance techniques exist to ensure high quality products. However, most often they are applied in isolation. A systematic combination of different static and dynamic quality assurance techniques promises to exploit synergy effects, such as higher defect detection rates or reduced quality assurance costs. However, a systematic overview of such combinations and reported evidence about achieving synergy effects with such kinds of combinations is missing. Objective: The main goal of this article is the classification and thematic analysis of existing approaches that combine different static and dynamic quality assurance technique, including reported effects, characteristics, and constraints. The result is an overview of existing approaches and a suitable basis for identifying future research directions. Method: A systematic mapping study was performed by two researchers, focusing on four databases with an initial result set of 2498 articles, covering articles published between 1985 and 2010. Results: In total, 51 articles were selected and classified according to multiple criteria. The two main dimensions of a combination are integration (i.e., the output of one quality assurance technique is used for the second one) and compilation (i.e., different quality assurance techniques are applied to ensure a common goal, but in isolation). The combination of static and dynamic analyses is one of the most common approaches and usually conducted in an integrated manner. With respect to the combination of inspection and testing techniques, this is done more often in a compiled way than in an integrated way. Conclusion: The results show an increased interest in this topic in recent years, especially with respect to the integration of static and dynamic analyses. Inspection and testing techniques are currently mostly performed in an isolated manner. The integration of inspection and testing techniques is a promising research direction for the exploitation of additional synergy effects.