I am currently conducting research on error prevention strategies in engineering design software and would greatly appreciate your insights. The goal is to gather the aggregated responses, anonymise them, and share the findings in a research paper. This paper aims to highlight current shortcomings in our field and suggest methods for improvements.

My primary focus is understanding how various companies approach the auditing of both internal and external calculation tools.

1. Audit Methods: Do you employ peer reviews, code audits, or self-assessments? Could you share which method is your go-to and why it is preferred?
2. Audit Frequency: How often do you conduct these audits? I’ve observed that some companies only audit when a code change occurs, while others do so every time a major error is spotted. What is your company’s practice and why?
3. External Tools: If you use external tools, how do you ensure their reliability? Do you conduct your own audits on the software, or do you rely on the supplier’s auditing system? If you do review their audit, what does that process look like and why?
4. Access to Source Code: If you conduct an audit, how do you access the source code? If you don’t have access to the source code, what alternative methods do you use and why is that method acceptable?
5. Raising Concerns: Lastly, how do you raise concerns about potential errors? More importantly, how do you validate that changes have been implemented effectively?

If you would prefer to private message me, please hover over my name and select 'Send Private Message' in the pop up window, or visit my full profile and then 'connect' - alternatively I have set up a google form which will not require your name, or email to populate your answers, and you will remain entirely anonymous: https://forms.gle/B8MkNGMqyEt2VhgK9

Thank you in advance for your time and insights. Your input will be invaluable to my research.