Software Quality Assurance Activities

Standard Definition Software Quality - Conformance to: explicitly stated functional and performance requirements, explicitly documented development standards, and implicit characteristics that are expected of all professionally developed software.

The Big Question How do we assure quality?

SQA Activities Pre-Project Activities Development and Maintenance Activities Error Reduction Infrastructure SQ Management Components SQA System Assessment Human Components Software Quality Assurance by Galin

SQA Activities Pre-Project Activities Contract Review Development Plan Quality Plan Development and Maintenance Activities Error Reduction Infrastructure SQ Management Components SQA System Assessment Human Components

Contract Review Process RFP SOW 1st Draft Contract Revisions Final Contract

Reality Check... Q: Why should the software geeks worry about the contract? A: Because the software team must do the work and assure the product's quality. loosely defined requirements unrealistic budgets unrealistic schedules A: Contract review is required by ISO 9001

What to look for in 1st Draft customer reqs clarified and documented? alternative approaches examined? risks identified? costs and time estimates reasonable? both customer and creator have capacity? subcontractor participation clear? proprietary rights? relationship between customer and creator specified? Galin section 5.3

Development Plan that Includes Quality Assurance Requirements Specification Review the SRS Defect Tracking Documentation Configuration Control Design Design Reviews Coding Standards Coding Unit Testing Test Procedures and Tolerances Integration Testing Validation Installation & Training Maintenance

Components of the Quality Plan Quality Goals hopefully the SRS is some help Review Activities schedule, type of reviews, scope, responsible persons Software Test Plan type of unit tests and coverage, integration plan Acceptance Tests for Sub-contract Software Configuration Tools and Procedures Galin section 6.3

SQA Activities Development and Maintenance Activities Pre-Project Activities Development and Maintenance Activities Formal Technical Reviews Code Inspections Unit Testing, Integration Test, etc. - earlier lecture Error Reduction Infrastructure SQ Management Components SQA System Assessment Human Components

Types of Evaluations Formal Reviews Inspections and Walkthroughs conducted by senior personnel or outside experts uncover potential problems Inspections and Walkthroughs done by peers detect problems, adherence to standards, etc. Verification Unit Test Integration Test Usability Test

SQA Activities Pre-Project Activities Development and Maintenance Activities Error Reduction Infrastructure work procedures - more details in a later lecture templates and checklists - later lecture staff training - at end of course preventive actions - later lecture configuration control - earlier lecture document control SQ Management Components SQA System Assessment Human Components

Definitions procedure - general methodology work instructions - details of how to implement those procedures for this project template - a standard Table of Contents checklist - list of items that are part of an activity

Example Types of Work Instructions audit process for subcontractors design documentation templates C++ programming instructions coordination and cooperation with the customer follow-up of beta site reporting monthly progress reporting etc... Galin: page 316

SQA Activities QA Management Components Pre-Project Activities Development and Maintenance Activities Error Reduction Infrastructure QA Management Components Project Progress schedules, budgets, risk analysis, … - earlier lectures Quality Metrics - earlier lecture Quality Costs SQA System Assessment Human Components

Statistical SQA Info about defects are collected and categorized. Defects are traced to their root cause. Isolate the vital 20% Move to correct problems that caused defects. Pareto Principle: 80% of defects can be traced to 20% of causes. SSQA is similar to "Six Sigma"

How much SQA is cost effective? + Failure Initial Cost of SQA Costs Eventual Cost of SQA Cost of Failure Software Quality Optimal Quality Level

Real Numbers Cost of Software Quality for 15 Projects at Raytheon’s Equipment Division http://www2.umassd.edu/swpi/costmodeling/papers/scoqpap1.doc

What are the SQA Costs Contract Reviews SRS Reviews Design Reviews Code Walkthrough Checklists creating the checklists training people to use the checklists filling out the checklists reviewing the checklists data auditing the checklist process

even more SQA Costs Tools o' Plenty Metrics Yadda yadda yadda progress tracking tool estimation and scheduling tools testing tools Metrics time spent creating forms and gathering the data time spent analyzing performance data Yadda yadda yadda etc

but don't forget to ask What are the costs of not conducting SQA? inaccurate proposal => inaccurate time estimate => unhappy customer poor SRS => expensive and time consuming changes to design etc etc etc

SQA Activities SQA System Assessment Pre-Project Activities Development and Maintenance Activities Error Reduction Infrastructure SQ Management Components SQA System Assessment Quality Management Standards SEI CMM ISO 9001 Human Components Details o'plenty at end of semester

SQA Activities Human Components Management SQA Unit Pre-Project Activities Development and Maintenance Activities Error Reduction Infrastructure SQ Management Components SQA System Assessment Human Components Management SQA Unit

The SQA Group Participates in the development of the project's software process description. Reviews software engineering activities to verify compliance with the defined process. Audits designated software work products to verify compliance with those defined as part of the software process. Ensures that deviations in software work and work products are documented and handled according to a documented procedure. Records any noncompliance and reports to senior management. Coordinates and controls change. Helps collect and analyze metrics.

Summary "Quality" includes explicit and implied properties as well as the development process. Reviews are a key part of SQA. An SQA Group is highly recommended. QA must be part of the plan and the schedule. SSQA is a commonly used formal approach to process improvement.