Software Quality Assurance (SQA) 1

Software Quality Assurance

What is SQA?

Software Quality Assurance (SQA)

It is a means and exercise of monitoring all software engineering processes, methods, and work products to ensure compliance against defined standards.

Software Quality Assurance (SQA)

It includes standards and procedures that managers, administrators or developers may use to review and audit software products and activities to verify that the software meets quality criteria which link to standards.

• requirements engineering

• software design

• coding

• code reviews

• source code control

• software configuration management

• testing

• release (or deployment) management

• software integration.

It encompasses the entire software development process which includes:

Capability Maturity Model (CMM)

SQA Models

Capability Maturity Model (CMM)

provides best practices that facilitate organizations to improve performance of their key capabilities, providing a clear roadmap for building, improving, and benchmarking capability

Level 1 - Initial

Level 2 - Managed

Level 3 - Defined

Level 4 - Quantitavely Mananged

Level 5 - Optimizing

Characteristics of the Maturity levels

Level 1 - Initial

Processes unpredictable poorly controlled and reactive

Level 2 - Managed

Processes characterized for projects and is often reactive

Level 3 - Defined

Processes characterized for the organization ans is proactive. (Projects tailor their processes from organizations standards.)

Level 4 - Quantitavely Managed

Processes measured and controlled

Level 5 - Optimizing

Focus on process improvemnet

• Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA)

• Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies (COBIT)

Organizations/Frameworks

Quality Management

To understand how reviews and inspections are used as a mechanism for SQA

Quality Management

To be aware of the standards and their importance in the QM process

Quality Management

To know how the standards are used in quality assurance

Quality Management

It is both an organizational and an individual project issue

Organizational

_________ by establishing a framework of organizational processes and standards leading to high quality software.

Project

_________ by involving the use of specific quality processes, checking that these planned processes have been followed and ensuring that the project outputs meet the standard.

true

Quality Assurance and Quality Control are both part of Quality Management

Quality Assurance

is the definition of processes and standards that should lead to high-quality products and the introduction of quality processes into the business process.

Quality Control

is the application of these quality processes to weed out products that are not of the required level of quality.

• Project deliverables

• Process Documentation

• Release testing process

What are the QM team check

Project Deliverables

to ensure that they are consistent with organizational standards and goals.

Process Documentation

to ensure that tasks have been completed by each team working on the project, important tasks have not been forgotten, and incorrect assumptions are not made.

• Product Introduction (product description, intended market, quality expectations)

• Product Plans (critical release dates, responsibilities for the product, plans for distribution and servicing)

• Process Description (service process and standard) • Quality Goals (product goals and plans)

• Risk and Risk Management (key risks → product quality : actions to be taken to address these risks)

Structure of Quality Plan

true

The assessment of software quality is a subjective process.

Quality Leaders work to:

• develop a quality culture

• encourage team take responsibility for quality of their tasks

• develop new approaches to quality improvement

Role of Quality Manager/Leader Quality Culture

• Standards capture wisdom that is of value to the organization

• Standards offer/provide a framework to define what quality means in a particular setting/organization

• Standards assist continuity when work carried out by one person is taken up and continued by another

Software Standards

1. Product standards

2. Process standards

Types of Standards

The ISO Standards Framework

most general standards that apply to organization that design, develop, and maintain products including software

Test Case

Employs validation testing, where tester expect the system to perform correctly using a set of test cases that reflect the app’s expected use. Also defect testing can be employed. It is where the test cases are designed to expose defects and defect testing can be deliberately unclear and need not reflect how the system is normally used.

Test Cases

are provisions of the inputs to the test and the expected output from the app (the test results), plus a statement of what is being tested. Test data are the inputs that have been devised to test a system.

1.Name of Project (App/System)

2. Name of Module

3. Document Reference Number (if any)

4. Name of Tester

5. Test Case Identification (ID)

6. Test Scenario

7. Test Case

8. Pre-condition

9. Test Steps

10. Expected Result(s)

11. Actual Result (or Remarks, optional)

Parts of Test Script (Recommended)

Software Process Improvement (SPI)

refers to the application of a systematic approach in the identification, evaluation, and improvement of software processes.

The goal of SPI

______ is a systematic methodology to improve the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of software development and maintenance.

• Identify the need for improvement - process assessment involving gathering data on the current state of the software development process.

• Establish goals and objectives - SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-boxed)

• Develop a plan - includes a timeline, resources, and responsibilities.

• Implement the plan - implements the changes (often couched as experiments) that have been identified and putting the collection of metrics in place to see if they are effective.

• Monitor and evaluate the improvement effort - collecting metrics data on the effectiveness of the changes that have been implemented and making adjustments as needed based on feedback.

Steps in SPI