The Software Quality Star: A conceptual model for the software quality curriculum Ronan Fitzpatrick School of Computing, Dublin Institute of Technology, Kevin Street, Dublin 8, Ireland. INTERACT 2003: Closing the Gaps. Ninth IFIP TC International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction September, 2003 Zurich, Switzerland

The Software Quality Star Ronan Fitzpatrick Closing The Gaps, September 2003, Zurich Overview n Originating philosophy ISI/IEC n Software Quality Star n Perspectives of software quality Perspectives of Producer, Product and Procurer n Closing the Gaps n Strategic Driver Model n Questions

The Software Quality Star Ronan Fitzpatrick Closing The Gaps, September 2003, Zurich Software life cycle processes Purpose n An international standard ISO/IEC 12207:1995(E) that –establishes a common framework for software life cycle processes. –uses well-defined terminology –is suitable for all sectors in the software industry

The Software Quality Star Ronan Fitzpatrick Closing The Gaps, September 2003, Zurich Software life cycle processes Field of application n Intended for use in a two-party situations –parties from different organisations –parties from same organisation –single party/self imposed tasks n Not intended for off-the-shelf software products unless incorporated into a deliverable product. n Written for the –acquirer, supplier, developers, operators, maintainers –managers, QA managers and end-users

The Software Quality Star Ronan Fitzpatrick Closing The Gaps, September 2003, Zurich Software life cycle processes Structure of the international standard ISO/IEC (1995)

The Software Quality Star Ronan Fitzpatrick Closing The Gaps, September 2003, Zurich ENGINEERING VIEW Software life cycle processes Five Primary life cycle processes System requirements analysis Process implementation Software requirements analysis Software coding and testing System architectural design Software architectural design Software detailed design Software integration Software qualification testing System integration System qualification testing Software installation Software acceptance support Modification implementation Maintenance review/ acceptance Process implementation Problem & modification analysis Migration Software retirement 5.5 Maintenance process 5.3 Development process

The Software Quality Star Ronan Fitzpatrick Closing The Gaps, September 2003, Zurich Software life cycle processes Five primary life cycle processes (plus Supporting and Organisational) 5.3 Development process 5.4 Operation process 5.5 Maintenance process 5.2 Supply process 5.1 Acquisition process End 6. Supporting life cycle process (documentation, configuration management, Quality assurance and problem resolution) 7. Organisational life cycle process (management, infrastructure, improvement and training) Start

The Software Quality Star Ronan Fitzpatrick Closing The Gaps, September 2003, Zurich Quality focus n Provides a common framework and vocabulary. n Written with QA manager in mind. n Addresses need quality planning. n Specifies unit, integration, system and acceptance testing. n Identifies the ongoing need for process improvement.

The Software Quality Star Ronan Fitzpatrick Closing The Gaps, September 2003, Zurich Quality STAR Contract Project Process Producer Procurer Product User IS Professional The Software Quality Star – Acquirer – operators, – maintainers, – managers, – end-users. – Supplier, – developers, – managers, – QA managers.

The Software Quality Star Ronan Fitzpatrick Closing The Gaps, September 2003, Zurich The Producer’s perspective n Producer –Competitive excellence - best in their field –Corporate accreditation - e.g., CMM, ISO –Domain speciality - knowledge and expertise of the procurer organisation’s business processes n Project –Development excellence, i.e., best project management standards and practice (e.g., P-CMM) n Process –Quality management, i.e., building in quality requirements as specified in the contract.

The Software Quality Star Ronan Fitzpatrick Closing The Gaps, September 2003, Zurich The Product perspective Quality factors

The Software Quality Star Ronan Fitzpatrick Closing The Gaps, September 2003, Zurich The Procurer’s perspective n Procurer –Competitive support - support for competitive position –Investment efficient - value for money –Statutory conformance - complies with legal obligations –Corporate alignment - product is in keeping with organisation’s business strategy n User –User acceptance - acceptable and usable by user community n IS professional –Technical excellence - serviceable and maintainable

The Software Quality Star Ronan Fitzpatrick Closing The Gaps, September 2003, Zurich Closing the Gap n Software life cycle and Software quality –More than testing, permeates all perspectives –At postgraduate level »Group of mixed primary degree - BSc, BEng, BBS, MBCS, BA, –At undergraduate level »BSc and BBS

The Software Quality Star Ronan Fitzpatrick Closing The Gaps, September 2003, Zurich Closing the Gap n Identifies the various stakeholders and their perspectives n Allows stakeholders and students for any discipline to understand the perspectives of stakeholders and students from other disciplines n Provides a common model for all.

The Software Quality Star Ronan Fitzpatrick Closing The Gaps, September 2003, Zurich Closing the Gap n Software Engineering – HCI –SE considerations »Development excellence, i.e., best project management standards and practice (e.g., P-CMM): »Quality management, i.e., building in quality requirements as specified in the contract. –HCI considerations (acceptable an usable)   »Usability – All 12 external quality factors per slide 11    »Usability evaluation - Usability methods and techniques   »Usability quotient - numerically quantify/metrics »Views of usability – product-centred view, context-of-use view and quality-of- use view which includes effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction.

The Software Quality Star Ronan Fitzpatrick Closing The Gaps, September 2003, Zurich Closing the Gap n Originally developed with a Quality focus n Focus of this presentation is HCI n The Software Quality Star can have its focus tailored to suit whatever discipline is being thought, typically, Security.

The Software Quality Star Ronan Fitzpatrick Closing The Gaps, September 2003, Zurich

Conclusion n Originating philosophy ISI/IEC n Software Quality Star n Perspectives of software quality Perspectives of Producer, Product and Procurer n Closing the Gaps n Strategic Driver Model

The Software Quality Star Ronan Fitzpatrick Closing The Gaps, September 2003, Zurich Closing the Gap QUESTIONS

The Software Quality Star Ronan Fitzpatrick Closing The Gaps, September 2003, Zurich The Product perspective Quality factors 

The Software Quality Star Ronan Fitzpatrick Closing The Gaps, September 2003, Zurich Usability methods as named by ISO/TR Usability Methods  Observation of users  Performance-related measurements  Critical incidents  Questionnaires  Interviews  Thinking aloud  Collaborative design and evaluation  Creativity methods  Document-based methods  Model-based approaches  Expert evaluation  Automated evaluation Additional Methods and Techniques  Electronic surveys  Log files  Video capture  Scan converter  Focus groups  Parallel design  Brainstorming 