The criteria we've come up for choosing a Static Code Analysis tool are the following:

  • Integration - how well does it integrate with VS2005. Does it claim to integrate with VS2008? What about legacy VS2003 stuff?
  • Versions - can it work against a .NET 1 project? Or a .NET 3/3.5 one?
  • Ease of use - how easy is it to run an analysis? How easy is it to understand what it wants you to fix? And where the code is?
  • Ease of configuration - how easy is it to add a new rule? Or turn one off?
  • Issue detection - running it against a specific project, what does it detect? How many potential issues does it spot? How does this compare the other tools?
  • Stability - any problems noticed since installing it/using it?
  • Extra - what else is there about this tool? Any added bonuses?


Is there anything else we should be thinking about?

Note: We've excluded cost as we're interested in finding the right tool without thinking about budgetary constraints.