The SQA Plan

The SQA Plan (SQAP)

Deals with the activities and tasks the SQA function is required to carry out over the next year and enables estimating resources required to perform the SQAP.

Activities for correcting management deficiencies related to quality issues:

The following are examples of management deficiencies related to quality issues planned to be corrected by the SQA function over the next year

Software product risks to users

presents a project list, where for each project, an evaluation of software product risks has to be performed by the SQA function.

Development equipment and tools of software projects

presents a list of projects, where for each project, a list of equipment and tools will be determined based on an analysis of the nature and contract technical requirements of the project.

Resources and schedule estimates for the SQA function

presents resources and schedule estimates for the SQA function activities planned for the next year.

Conformance Evaluation of project plans

lists the SQA function’s conformance evaluation tasks of the project plan tasks.

Standards, practices, and conventions for software projects

refers to the activity that will evaluate lists of standards, practices, and conventions – applicable to all software projects.

Conformance evaluation of products

lists the evaluations of software development products for their conformance to requirements, standards, and conventions.

Evaluation of product for acceptability

lists evaluation of the required confidence level of a software project product (including product documentation) to be acceptable by the acquirer that is required to be carried out by the SQA function over the next year.

Conformance evaluation of product maintenance plan

lists evaluation of conformance of maintenance plans with contract requirements, regulations, standards, and conventions that have to be carried out over the next year.

Measurement plans for products

lists the measurement plans and required data collection for software products to be prepared by the SQA function over the next year.

Conformance evaluation of life cycle processes

deals with the evaluation tasks of life cycle processes, models, and procedures to be performed by the SQA function over the next year.

Conformance evaluation of environment

deals with the evaluation of the adequacy of the environment of development, test, and support services to be performed by the SQA function over the next yea

Conformance evaluation of subcontractors’ participation in project implementation

presents the SQA function evaluation tasks aimed to determine the adequacy of the pre-contract activities.

Measurement of development, testing, and operation processes

lists the measurement plans and required data collection for software life cycle processes to be prepared by the SQA function over the next year.

Assessment of staff skills and knowledge requirements and resulting training needs

deals with the evaluation of skills and knowledge required from project staff, identification of deficiencies, and the training program expected to solve these deficiencies.

The Project Plan

Deals with the activities and tasks to be performed by the project team throughout the project’s life cycle, namely, during the development and operation stages.

The Process of Preparing a Project Plan

The project manager is usually the person responsible for preparing the project plan - which is expected to be completed and reviewed before the project implementation begins.

Data collection phase

includes the study of qualified manpower availability for the project, appropriate development tools, possible development risks, and method or their elimination or at least their mitigation.

Project Products

A development plan includes deliverables , software products of each activity, development process mapping and development resources estimation

Control Methods

The project manager and the department management control project implementation by defining the monitoring practices to be applied: progress report and coordinating meetings and so on.

Mapping the Development Process

involves preparing detailed definitions of each of the project’s activities.

Estimating Development Resources

The type of professional resources required and the estimated quantity are Internal(developer) and External (subcontractor)

Project Staff Organization

The organization plan includes organizational structure, Professional requirements for each team, Number of team members required for each period of time and Name of team leaders, and, if possible, the name of team members

Project Interfaces

Includes Software interface, Hardware interface , Teams interface

Product Risks

a state where the software product may cause damage to the developer and/or to the user of the software.

Development Risks

a state of a development task or environment, which, if ignored, will increase the likelihood of project failure

Project Milestones

events of importance in the development process, that is, the completion of the design phase. For each milestone, the completed project products and scheduled times are to be defined.

Project Cost Estimation

includes human resources costs, subcontractor costs, costs of purchased software, and costs of additional resources, such as travel costs and equipment costs.

Project Methodology and Development Tools

The methodology and development tools have to be applied for each phase of the project.

Software Development Standards and Procedures

are determined by the customer as part of the requirements stated in the project contract.

Required Development Facilities

include hardware, laboratories, software and hardware development tools, office space, and other items.

Documentation Control

The planner is required to define the list of the projects controlled documents and quality records. In addition, a work instruction for the project’s documentation control should be prepared.

Security Including Virus Protection

The planner is required to define security controls related to the project documents, code in processes, and software products. Special work instructions might be required in certain projects.

Quality Goals

are the developed software system’s substantive quality requirements

Procedures and Work Instructions

The relevant procedures and work instructions should be defined according to the combined quality assurance and development considerations.

Criteria for Ending each Project Stage:

A criterion for ending each of the development stages, accepted by the customer and developer, is essential for the regular flow of the development process. It requires:

Project Life Cycle SQA Activities

The quality plan should provide a complete listing of all planned review activities: design reviews (DRs), design inspections, code inspections, and so on

Configuration Management Tools and Procedures

The quality plan should specify configuration management tools and procedures, including the timing of baseline version releases.

Monitoring Measurement Activities

The planners should define software quality metrics for quality, productivity, schedule keeping, and so forth.

Person(s) Responsible for Approving Project Outputs

The person(s) authorized to approve each of the project products, documents, and code files, especially deliverable items, should be determined.

Training in Use of New Development Tools

The need to apply new development tools for given development activities creates a training requirement.

Change Management

a procedure that needs to be applied throughout the project should be defined and agreed upon with the customer.