Software Quality Assurance: Key Concepts and Processes

Software quality

The degree to which a software product meets established requirements.

Software quality assurance

A set of activities that define and assess the adequacy of software processes to provide evidence that establishes confidence that the software processes are appropriate for and produce software products of suitable quality for their intended purposes.

Customer focus

Requires obsessive knowledge of what your customers need, and how to deliver.

Leadership

An organization's leaders should create an internal environment in which employees are involved in achieving quality targets.

Involvement of People-employees

The involvement of employees at all levels enables benefiting from their capabilities to promote software quality issues.

Process Approach

Managing activities and resources as processes results in their improved efficiency.

System Approach to Management

Process management achieves higher effectiveness and efficiency through identification, analysis, and understanding of interrelated processes.

Continual Improvement

Continual combined improvement of quality and processes' effectiveness and efficiency performance are a permanent objective of the organization.

Factual Approach of Decision-making

Decisions should be based on data and information, allowing for objective decision making that will lead to positive actions.

Mutually Beneficial Supplier Relationships

Understanding that an organization's supplier relationships based on mutual benefits contributes to improved performance of the organization with regard to quality, efficiency, and effectiveness.

Code

An accumulation of programming language instructions and statements.

Computer programs (codes)

A collection of instructions that can be executed by a computer to perform a specific task.

Procedures

Define the order and schedule within which the software or project programs are performed, the method for handling common malfunctioning of software products, and so on.

Documentation

The purpose of this is to instruct or support new software product version developers, maintenance staff, and end-users of the software product.

Data Necessary for Operating the Software System (Data)

Includes lists of codes and parameters, and also standard test data.

Software Errors

Made by a software designer or programmer.

Software Faults/ Software Defect

Software errors that cause improper functioning of the software in a specific application, and in rare cases, of the software in general.

Software Failures

Results of software faults that become software failures only when they are 'activated'.

Faulty Requirements Definition

Usually prepared by the client, is one of the main causes of software errors.

Client-developer Communication Failures

Misunderstandings resulting from a defective client-developer communication are additional causes for errors.

Deliberate Deviations from Software Requirements

An action that often causes software errors when the developer incorrectly interprets a requirement.

Logical Design Errors

Software errors can enter the system when professionals designing the system formulate the software requirements into design definitions.

Coding Errors

A wide range of reasons cause programmers to make coding errors.

Noncompliance with documentation and coding instructions

Difficulties will inevitably be presented when trying to understand noncomplying software.

Shortcomings of the Testing Process

Affect the error rate by leaving a greater number of errors undetected or uncorrected.

User Interface and Procedure Errors

Direct users in areas such as the performance of input and output activities, and data collection and processing.

Documentation Errors

Errors of concern to the development and maintenance teams found in design, software manuals, documents, user manual and in the 'help' displays incorporated in the software.

Correctness

Related to the outputs of software systems, such as a query display of a customer's balance.

Reliability

Deals with failures to provide service.

Efficiency

Deals with the hardware resources needed to perform all the functions of the software system.

Integrity

Defined to cope with risks of unauthorized attempts to damage the software system.

Usability

Deals with the scope of staff resources needed to train a new employee and to operate the software system.

Maintainability

Determines the efforts needed by users and maintenance personnel to identify and correct software failures.

Flexibility

Deals with the capabilities and efforts required to support adaptive maintenance activities.

Testability

Deals with the testing process of a software system, as well as with its operation.

Portability

Relates to the adaptation of a software system to other environments with different hardware or operating systems.

Reusability

Deals with the use of a software module from an existing product in a new project.

Interoperability

Focuses on creating interfaces with other software systems or equipment firmware.

Functional suitability

The capability to fulfill the functions needed by the customer, stated or implied.

Performance efficiency

Relates to the amount of hardware resources required to fulfill the software system tasks.

Compatibility

Refers to the capability of a software system to exchange information with other systems.

Security

Relates to the capability of a system to protect against unauthorized access.

Effectiveness

Relates to the successful completion of tasks, including schedule and error frequency considerations.

Evolvability

The efforts required to fulfill future requirements for software system changes.

Expandability

The future efforts required to serve larger populations or add new applications.

Extensibility

The efforts required to enhance the software product to meet new requirements.

Human Engineering

– deals with the “man-machine” user interface with the application or software, the ease to understand and work with the application, the ease in performing any communication involved with working with the application.

Manageability

The administrative tools that support software modification during development.

Modifiability

The efforts needed to modify the software product according to specific customer requirements.

Productivity

Relates to the rate at which the software product performs tasks.

Safety

Designed to eliminate conditions that may be hazardous to equipment and operators.

Satisfaction

The user perception of the extent the software product meets user expectations.

Supportability

The ease of performing install tasks and maintenance tasks of error corrections.

Survivability

The continuity of service.

Understandability

The user's capability to find out how to use the software for particular tasks.

Verifiability

Defines design and programming features that enable efficient verification.

SQA Trustees

Staff members who promote software quality by volunteering their time.

SQA Committee Members

Can be either permanent or ad hoc, dealing with software quality issues.

SQA Forum Members

Informal components of the SQA framework established by volunteers.

Criticality

the potential to cause harm to the user or prejudice the interests of the purchaser varies depending on the type of product.

Uncertainty of Users’ Wants and Needs:

The requirements for software that implements a familiar process in an organization are better known than the requirements for a consumer product that is so new that the end-users do not even know what they want

Range of Environments:

Software written for use in a specific organization only has to be compatible with its own computer environment, whereas software sold to a mass market must work in a wide range of environments.

Cost of Fixing Errors

It will cost more to fix an error after the product is built than it would if the error was discovered during the requirements phase of a project.

Regulations

Regulatory bodies and contractual clauses may require the use of software practices other than those that would normally be adopted.

Project Size:

Projects that take several years and require hundreds of developers are common in certain organizations, whereas in other organizations, shorter projects developed by a single team are more typical.

Communication

There are a certain number of factors, in addition to project scope, that can increase the quantity of person-to-person communication or make communications more difficult.

Organization’s Culture

The organization has a culture that defines how people work.

Control Culture

Motivated by the need for power and security (e.g., IBM).

Skill Culture

defined by the need to make full use of one’s skills (e.g., Microsoft).

Collaborative Culture

As illustrated by Hewlett-Packard (HP), is motivated by a need to belong (e.g., Facebook).

Thriving Culture:

Motivated by self-actualization, and can be seen in start-up organizations (e.g., Adobe).

Permanent Committees

commonly deal with SCC (Software Change Control), CA (Corrective Actions), procedures, methods, development tools, and quality metrics

Ad hoc Committees

commonly deal with specific cases, such as updates of a specific procedure, analysis and solution of a software failure, elaboration of software metrics for a targeted process or product, and updates of data collection methods for a specific issue.

Corrective actions

analysis of failure and success cases

Quality system issues

development and implementation of new tools

Quality line management problems

daily operational software quality problems brought before it by quality managers from every level.