What does defect density indicate in a software component?

Defect density is a metric that expresses the ratio of defects identified in a software component relative to its size, usually measured in lines of code (LOC) or function points. This measurement provides insight into the software's quality by quantifying how many defects exist for a given unit of size.

When analyzing defect density, developers can understand the prevalence of defects in larger codebases compared to smaller ones. A high defect density can indicate potential issues with the coding practices or development process, highlighting areas that may require additional scrutiny or improvement. By focusing on this ratio rather than just the number of defects or the amount of defective code, teams can better assess the relative health of the software and prioritization of issues based on its scale.

While quality, defective code, and severity of defects are important considerations in software testing, they do not capture the specific metric that defect density represents. Quality is a broader concept that encompasses numerous aspects of the software, while the amount of defective code and severity pertains more to the actual defects rather than their relation to the overall size of the software component.