Software quality assurance in practice

This paper presents the key findings of a survey of a representative sample of the Australian software industry as to the actual use and application of quality assurance techniques in the development of software. The survey aims to confirm previous survey findings through a management questionnaire and to investigate the software development practices at the screen face through a developer questionnaire. The separate responses are analysed to rate the extent to which quality management practices have penetrated the information systems department. The project commenced in July 1994 and the results of this initial survey support the hypothesis that software quality assurance programmes have not yet penetrated to the systems developers at lower levels of organizations.     

Software quality practices — an empirical study

Concern about the quality of software is widespread. Reliable data about current practice are hard to get as no one likes to admit that they are producing poor software. In a recent survey, Wilson has taken an approach to obtaining data about the practice of software quality assurance among companies in Australia. The same technique has been used here to investigate practice among companies in Europe and America. The survey ams to investigate quality systems used by the organizations, and the application of these systems by software fevelopers. In this paper they are compared with the Australian experience and the results of the survey shown. The company's demographic data and overall response pattern from this survey are compared with Wilson's. Patterns in software quality assurance programs of organizations are suggested by comparing the management's perspective with that of the developers. The most popular software development techniques identified by the developers are prioritized in the order of their popularity by using a weighting scheme and their implications are discussed.     

Efficiency of CAMEtools in software quality assurance

Our paper describes the requirements and possibilities of integration of metrics tools in the field of software quality assurance. Tools for the support of the measurement process are herein classified as Computer Assisted Software Measurement and Evaulation Tools (CAMETools). Software measurement regarded as a special type of metrics application provides a great amount of basic information for the evaluation of the software development process or the software product itself. Our paper examines the effectiveness and destination of software measurement in tool-based software development and is based on an analysis of more than 20 CAME tools in the Software Measurement Laboratory at the University of Magdeburg. CAMEtools are useable for the process, product, and resources evaluation in all phases of the software life cycle (including the problem definition) for different development paradigms. The efficiency of CAME tools is described on the basis of a general measurement framework. This framework includes all steps in the software measurement and evaulation process: metrics definition, selection of the evaluation criteria, tool-based modelling and measurement, value presentation and statistical analysis. The framework includes the main aspects of the process evaluation techniques (Capability Maturity Model, ISO 9000-3 etc.) and product evaluation (ISO 9126, etc.). It is not a disjointed set of aspects: our measurement framework represents an incremental technique for the application of quantification of quality aspects in a required quality assurance     

Perceptions of software quality: a pilot study

Many software quality initiatives fail because they do not take account of the range of views that people have of quality. New approaches to software quality improvement will not work unless software developers believe in them, no matter how enthusiastic managers may be. This paper reports on a pilot study using the repertory grid technique that found evidence to support these assertions. The study findings justify further work and show that while the repertory grid technique is an appropriate instrument in this area it is resource intensive to apply and may not be practical in a wider study of a representative sample of the IT industry. The paper has practical recommendations for successful introduction of new software quality programmes. These recommendations stress the need for effective communication, leading to a shared understanding of quality, and for realistic goals that recognize the pressure of development schedules.     

软件研制的过程质量管理

软件的质量保证措施主要有2个方面：软件研制过程的质量保证和软件产品的质量评估。本文认为软件研制过程的质量管理是软件质量保证的关键,归纳了现阶段国内软件研制中影响软件质量的主要因素,详细分析了这些因素对于软件质量、软件研制及维护成本的影响,论述了软件研制的过程管理与软件质量的关系,结合长期软件研制工作经验,总结了面向软件质量保证的软件研制过程管理措施的主要内容。     

Software quality standards in practice: the limitations of using ISO-9001 to support software development

Quality management standard BS5740/ISO9001 is a key technology for UK and Europe in the 1990s. This paper shows that the relevance of BS5750/ISO9001 is limited and suggests that standards bodies must develop and endorse new standards to ensure that software quality improvement programmes continue to be adopted by the information technology industry.     

Quality assurance in micro production

Quality assurance is essential for an efficient support of all developing and manufacturing processes and activities with the forefront objective to reach robust processes with a high throughput of parts meeting their functional requirements. Due to the lack of a broad base of experiences regarding the still developing manufacturing technologies in micro production an adequate quality assurance plays an even more important role in order to efficiently support the transition of micro production processes from non-robust to stable processes. Thereby, quality assurance faces particular challenges in micro production, which render a reasonable application of common quality methods difficult or even impossible. Consequently, it is essential to develop new concepts or adjust widely applied quality assurance methods in order to support and continuously improve the development- and manufacturing processes in micro production. Within the scope of the Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 499 “Design, production and quality assurance of primary shaped micro components manufactured in ceramic and metallic materials” the approach of the subproject working on the topic quality assurance is threefold: (i) An efficient and process-accompanying information management has been implemented and will be enhanced further on. (ii) Specifically adjusted preventive methods of quality assurance have been developed and applied. (iii) In order to implement an efficient operational quality assurance performance data of the manufacturing processes has been collected and provided. In the future this supply of data will be used to control and improve the manufacturing processes.     

军用实时系统开发中质量保证模型

提出项目管理和过程技术相结合的质量保证模型,一方面规范项目管理,对承制单位进行国家军用标准资质认证,建立有效的质量管理体系,对软件开发实施全程质量跟踪管理控制;另一方面不断改进和提高开发过程中所应用的技术、方法,采取迭代开发模式,并在开发过程科学有效地开展需求管理、同行评审、软件测试等一系列的质量保证活动.     

The value of a certified quality management system: the perception of internal developers

There is growing interest among internal information technology (IT) departments in implementing a certified quality management system (QMS). This paper examines the forces that have influenced organizations that supply development services to adopt QMS models and explores the relevance of these forces to internal IT developers. The perceptions of internal developers regarding the value of QMS in addressing these forces were studied using a multiple case study involving four organizations. The results suggest that while the reasons given by external developers concern mainly the marketing advantages of adopting a QMS, internal developers envisage the major advantage to be an improvement in the development process.     

软件开发过程质量保证策略研究

随着软件系统在电子产品中的广泛应用,软件开发过程中的质量保证问题越来越重要,和成熟的硬件质量管理相比,软件质量保证需要更加严谨的流程性和灵活性保证策略。本文在研究软件质量保证要求基础上,结合项目管理实践,提出了软件评审、软件测试、软件配置管理、软件外包管理、软件质量审核等软件开发过程质量保证方法,提高了企业研制高水平的软件产品能力。     

软件研发中的项目质量管理过程研究

重点介绍了软件研发中的项目质量管理知识体系,涉及软件质量计划编制、软件质量保证、软件质量控制等过程。     

软件项目需求管理的研究

软件需求是软件设计及实现的基础,对于整个软件项目来说至关重要。本文介绍需求管理的必要性和复杂性之后,阐述了需求管理的目标和原则、需求变更管理和质量保证。     

Software quality programmes: a snapshot of theory versus reality

We analyse the software quality programmes of two major UK companies whose software development departments, we feel, are typical of many hundreds in the UK. The analysis is based on an almost exhaustive survey of relevant practitioners at these companies (123 out of a possible 149 individuals) using questionnaires and interviews. We discovered significant differences between senior managers' perceptions and the reality of what quality practices took place. In particular, use of reviews and inspections, which are widely believed to be an extremely cost-effective QA procedure, was very limited even when safety critical software was being developed. On the other hand there was widespread use of development and coding standards whose value is questionable. We also discovered significant differences between practitioners' and managers' views of what the company quality goals really were. While no generalizable conclusions can be drawn from the results of just two companies, the observations do confirm the informal results arising from the more extensive nationwide survey of which this particular study forms a part.     

基于问题生命周期的软件问题管理平台——SPMPE

软件整个生命周期中的软件问题管理是各种软件质量保证活动的核心,文中介绍了一个基于问题生命周期的软件问题管理平台———SPMP。文章深入讨论了软件问题的生命周期,指出软件问题的状态控制与变更追踪构成了软件问题管理的基础。然后介绍了该平台的体系结构、关键技术和应用实例,最后给出结论。     

软件测试和软件质量管理的分析与研究

软件质量是软件的生命,开发人员和用户都十分重视软件的质量问题。因此,软件开发过程必需伴有质量保证活动,而软件测试是最至关重要的质量保证活动。本文首先介绍了软件测试和软件质量保证的概念,以及软件测试的v模型和软件质量度量模型,并从提高软件质量的角度出发,阐述了软件测试的基本方法和如何将软件质量保证环节做得更好,从而真正提高软件质量。     

从软件质量控制到软件质量保证

本文阐述了在嵌入式系统和在其他执行关键任务的软件中由传统的软件质量控制技术到前涉的质量保证方案的转化：软件在每一个产品和每一个组织中所发挥的作用日益重要。近年来,执行关键任务的应用系统的数量以指数速度增长。这些系统要么失败后损失巨大（空中交换管制系统和其他生命支持产品）。要么纠正费用高（便携式电话和其他用户产品）。为嵌入式系统设计的软件在更多的时候属于“执行关键任务”的范畴,而对嵌入式系统的需求也在继续升温,因此对前涉的质量保证的需求要高于以往任何时候。本文把质量控制到质量保证的转化分为两个阶段：1质量评估（第一阶段）：在开发周期的早期,即在软件到达用户之前,甚至在测试之前识别和排除软件故障,同时提供客观定量的质量评估。2质量保证（第二阶段）：在作更改的时候,通过精确的影响分析,采用强制执行编码标准和防止新错误出现的方法来防止错误进入代码基数。     

基于软件过程的质量管理

随着信息技术的发展,软件在各行各业发挥了巨大作用,并形成了自己的产业。软件产品的功能度和复杂性要比制造业的产品高得多,它在投入使用后,所能发挥的功效也是其他任何形式的硬件产品所无法比拟的。目前,软件产品的质量问题主要来自开发过程。本文结合作者的项目经历就基于软件过程的软件质量管理做一些探讨。     

Software quality management in turbulent times – are there alternatives to process oriented software quality management?

Software Quality Journal - There is a widely accepted paradigm of successful software development, called process oriented software quality management (PSQM). The proponents of PSQM claim that it...     

软件质量管理研究的发展

软件质量以及软件质量管理日益成为人们关注的焦点。文章在前人研究的基础上,对目前国际上流行的软件质量管理的理论和方法进行研究,重点讨论了当前较为通用的两种软件质量管理的标准——ISO9000标准和CMM（能力成熟度模型）,并分析二者的相关性和差异性。总结了国内软件质量管理的现状,以及进行软件过程改进所面临的问题。     

Project Management: an Evaluation of Software Quality

Widespread use of microcomputers with the latest project management systems offers a new horizon whose starting point may be located in the 1990s. Therefore an evaluation of software is needed. Here we present a comparative study of a representative sample of packages: CA-Super project, Instaplan. Micro Planner, Microsoft Project and Project Scheduler. through the evaluation of quality features such as user-friendliness, documentation, resource allocation. A discussion of the performance of this kind of software is included.