Overview of Quality

assurance

The Need for Software Quality Assurance

Software quality measurement and control
The Development Infrastructure
Software Process Management
Participative Design
The Need for Software
Quality Assurance

 Quality more important than ever as software becomes

an integral part of the products sold
 Defining user needs and judging the quality of the
completed system have proved to be major challenges
 Meeting specifications does not necessarily mean quality
- there exist numerous factors that determine the
success of a system
Quality assurance in IS

Review of s/w products and related

documentation for completeness,
correctness, reliability & maintainability
It includes assurance that the system meets
the specifications and the requirements for
this intended use of performance
What is Quality in IS?

 A quality system must do the following:

Achieve the business goals articulated by the user department
operate at an acceptable cost, commensurate with the value
produced for the firm
Meet carefully defined performance standards (such as response
time and system availability)
produce accurate, reliable output with assurance that its
dependability is “good enough” for the purpose intended
Be easy to learn and use
Be flexible
Maintenance

Maintenance is the most expensive phase of the

systems development process
Systems are maintained because of:
organizational changes
software complexity
faulty systems analysis and design
Characteristics included in
the quality of IS

 Complete Data
Accurate Data
Precise Data
Understandable output
Timely output
Means to Ensure Quality

Use of appropriate systems development

methodology
Proper resource allocation during
development
Use of software metrics
Attention to testing
Use of quality tools
The Role of Methodologies
A collection of methods, one or more for every activity
within every phase of a development project. Normally
a methodology includes the following:
Proven methods for determining and documenting both system
specifications and system design
programming standards that result in understandable,
maintainable code that is not overly complex
Guidelines for developing quality measurements to be agreed on
by all interested parties prior to development
Standards and methods for testing the system
Software tools to be used at every phase to standardize the
work in the project and to improve the quality of the output
Project control methods, including numerous project milestones
at which user approval will be required
Resource Allocation

 Determination of how costs, time, and personnel are

assigned to different activities of a systems development
project
1/4 of a project’s time and cost should be expended in
specifications and analysis
2/4 should be allocated to design and programming
1/4 should be allocated to installation and postimplementation
Software Metrics

 Objective assessments of the software used in a

system in the form of quantified measurements
Input metrics (educational and experience of system
developers
Capacity metrics (transaction levels)
Output metrics (Number of checks printed per hour)
Performance/Quality metrics (Number of bugs per
hundred lines of code)
Value metrics (Business value of a transaction)
Traditional Tools and Methodologies
for Quality Assurance

 Structured Refers to the fact that techniques are

instructions that are carefully drawn up, often step-by-
step, with each step building on the previous one
Human
Resources

Equal
Personnel Benefits Employment Economic
Opportunity

Employee Health
Pension Savings Insurance
Care
Structured Analysis

Structured Analysis Top-down method for defining

system inputs, processes, and outputs and for
partitioning systems into subsystems or modules that
show a logical graphic model of information flow

Data Flow Diagram (DFD) Primary tool in structured

analysis that graphically illustrates a system’s component
processes and the flow of data between them
What you really need...

“…few people in industry know what

constitutes a system. Many people think
machinery and data processing when I
mention systems. Few of them know that
requirement, training, supervision and
aids to production workers are part of the
system.”
Deming (1989)
A Quality Oriented Organizational
System

Leadership Structure Process Outcome

Management Process
Top Management Quality
Infrastructure Management
Leadership Performance
Sophistication Efficacy

Stakeholder
Participation