SQA-Midterm

The SQA Plan (SQAP)

Deals with the activities and tasks the SQA function is required to carry out over the next year

1. SQA Process Implementation Activity Elements 2. Product Assurance Activity Elements 3. Process Assurance Activity Elements

The activity elements are classified into three (3) groups:

The Project Plan

Deals with the activities and tasks to be performed by the project team throughout the project’s life cycle

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.

Standards, practices, and conventions for software projects

refers to the activity that will evaluate lists of standards, practices, and conventions

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

Conformance evaluation of products

lists the evaluations of software development products

Evaluation of product for acceptability

lists evaluation of the required confidence level of a software project product

Conformance evaluation of product maintenance plan

lists evaluation of conformance of maintenance plans

Measurement plans for products

lists the measurement plans and required data collection for software products

Conformance evaluation of life cycle processes

deals with the evaluation tasks of life cycle processes, models, and procedures

Conformance evaluation of environment

deals with the evaluation of the adequacy of the environment of development, test, and support services

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

Assessment of staff skills and knowledge requirements and resulting training needs

deals with the evaluation of skills and knowledge

The project manager

usually the person responsible for preparing the project plan

Project Products

A development plan includes the following products: - Deliverables, - Software products of each activity, - Development process mapping - Development resources estimation

Control Methods

The project manager and the department management control project implementation

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) staff and their professional skills, - External (subcontractor) staff and their professional skills

Project Staff Organization

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

Project Interfaces

Include: - 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.

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.

Security Including Virus Protection

The planner is required to define security controls related to the project documents, code in processes, and software products.

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

Project Life Cycle SQA Activities

The quality plan should provide a complete listing of all planned review activities

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

procedures to be applied throughout the project should be defined and agreed upon with the customer.

Cost of Software Quality

is the financial assessment of software quality development and maintenance

Cost of Software Quality Measurement Objectives

It is the - Control organization-initiated costs to prevent and detect software errors, - Evaluate financial damages of software failures as a basis for revising the SQA budget, - Evaluate plans to increase/decrease SQA activities, or to invest in new/updated SQA infrastructure.

The Classic Model of Cost of Software Quality

developed in the early 1950s by Feigenbaum and others, provides a methodology for classifying the costs associated with product quality assurance from a financial point of view.

Costs of Control

relate to costs controlled by the software developer and includes the following subclasses: - Prevention Costs, - Appraisal Costs

Costs of Failure of Control

- relate to the costs of correcting failures that occurred due to unsuccessful prevention activities. The model further subdivides these costs into two subclasses: - Internal Failure Costs, - External Failure Costs

Prevention Costs

include investments in establishing, updating, and improving a software quality infrastructure, as well as for performing the regular activities required for its operation.

Appraisal costs

include the cost of activities performed for a specific project or software system to detect software errors that need to be corrected.

Internal failure costs

are those incurred through correcting errors that were detected through design reviews, software tests, and acceptance tests performed before the software was installed at customer sites.

External failure costs

include all costs of correcting failures detected by customers or maintenance teams after the software system has been installed at customer sites

Management Control Costs

relate to costs that are controlled by the management

Extended Model for Cost of Software Quality

Management Prevention Costs

are associated with activities performed to prevent managerial failures or reduce prospects of their occurrence.

Management Appraisal Costs

are associated with activities performed to prevent managerial failures or reduce prospects of their occurrence.

Management Failure of Control Costs

relates to the costs of correcting failures that occurred due to unsuccessful prevention activities.

Management Internal Failure Costs

may be incurred throughout the entire course of software development.

Management External Failure Costs

Naturally, most managerial external failure costs incurred after completion of software development and system installation.