Introduction to Quality and its Importance Marieke Guy UKOLN M.Guy@ukoln.ac.uk http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/qa-focus/ QA Focus – Supporting JISC's 5/99 Programme

QA Focus – Supporting JISC's 5/99 Programme What is Quality? There are so many definitions for Quality. Quality is….. Based on judgments by an individual or organisation Fitness for purpose Corresponds to a rating Based on acceptable performance Meeting goals Meeting requirements QA Focus – Supporting JISC's 5/99 Programme

What is Quality Assurance? Quality is the ability of your product to be able to satisfy your users What is Quality Assurance? Quality Assurance is the process that demonstrates your product is able to satisfy your users QA Focus – Supporting JISC's 5/99 Programme

QA Focus – Supporting JISC's 5/99 Programme What is the Aim of QA? What is the aim of Quality Assurance? When good Quality Assurance is implemented there should be improvement in usability and performance and lessening rates of defects QA Focus – Supporting JISC's 5/99 Programme

QA Focus – Supporting JISC's 5/99 Programme What does QA give? Quality’ means your project is ‘useful’ - without ‘quality’ you may have little to offer ‘Quality’ can help to future-proof projects But ‘quality assurance’ needs documented standards and best practices to be meaningful ‘Quality’ & ‘Best Practice’ can be considered in terms of being ‘Fit for Purpose’ QA Focus – Supporting JISC's 5/99 Programme

QA Focus – Supporting JISC's 5/99 Programme Why is QA needed? In the past JISC had standards-based philosophy but: Approach of "let a 1,000 flowers bloom" Diversification as no killer application Things are different now: The Web is the killer application There is now a need for interoperability (now self-contained independent Web sites) There is a need for publicly-funded services to be seen to provide value for money QA Focus – Supporting JISC's 5/99 Programme

What is Quality Control? Quality Control (QC) is the implementation of regular testing procedures against your definitions of quality and more specifically the refinement of these procedures Formal use of testing Acting on the results of your tests Requires planning, structured tests, good documentation Relates to output - Quality Circle Standards - ISO 9000 & BS5750 however there is currently no such standard for Web sites QA Focus – Supporting JISC's 5/99 Programme

QA Focus – Supporting JISC's 5/99 Programme The Quality Cycle Quality Control Test site Create site input output Quality Refine site Test results Quality Assurance QA Focus – Supporting JISC's 5/99 Programme

QA Focus – Supporting JISC's 5/99 Programme Exercise 2 In small groups carry out Exercise 2: ‘QA Approaches to Identified Problems’ QA Focus – Supporting JISC's 5/99 Programme

QA Focus – Supporting JISC's 5/99 Programme Questions Any questions? QA Focus – Supporting JISC's 5/99 Programme