1. Chapter 4 Components of the Software Quality Assurance System

2. Classes of SQA System Components
Pre-project components
Software project life cycle components
Infrastructure components for error avoidance and improvements
Management SQA components
SQA standards, system certification and assessment components
Organizing for SQA – the human components

3. The Software Quality temple
Project
Development plan
and Quality Plan
Ch.6
Pre-project SQA components
Project Life Cycle SQA components
Formal Design Reviews
Sec. 8.2
Experts Opinion
Sec. 8.5
Peer Reviews
Sec. 8.3
SQA of External Participants
Ch 12
Software Maintenance
Ch. 11
Software Testing
Chs. 9-10
Quality Infrastructure components
Procedures
Ch. 14
Supporting
Devices
Ch. 15
Training
Instruction
Ch. 16
Preventive
Actions
Ch.17
Configuration
Management
Ch. 18
Document-
ation
Control
Ch. 19
Quality Management
Progress
Ch. 20
Software
Quality
Metrics
Ch. 21
Costs
Ch. 22
Standards
Ch. 23
Process
Ch.24
Organizational Base – Human components
Management - Ch. 25
SQA Unit - Sec. 26.1
SQA Committees – Sec. 26.2
SQA Trustees – Sec. 26.2
SQA Forums – Sec 26.4
Contract review
Ch.5

4. Pre-project components
These components assure:
The project commitments have been effectively defined considering the resources requires, the schedule and budget
The development and quality plans have been correctly determined
These components include:
Contract Review
Contract review activities must include a detailed examination of the project proposal draft and the contract draft
Development and quality plans
After singing the contracts, project plan is prepared and its integrated quality assurance activities (the quality plan) are also prepared

5. Software project life cycle components
The development life cycle is composed of two stages:
Development life cycle stage
Operation-maintenance stage
SQA components at this stage include:
Reviews
The design phase of development process produces different documents that needs review: design reports, SW test documents, installation plans, manuals…etc. Reviews can be either
Formal design reviews: to formally get professional doc. Approval
Peer reviews: peer review of short doc., chapter, or reports.
Expert opinions
Expert opinions support quality assessment efforts by introducing additional external capabilities into the organization’s in-house development process. (why we may need such experts?)

6. 2. Software project life cycle components - Continued
Software testing
It is a formal process carried out by specialized testing team in which a software unit, several integrated SW units or an entire SW package are examined by running the programs on a computer. Testing can be classified as:
Black Box Testing (functionality test)
White Box Testing (Structural test)
Software maintenance

7. 2. Software project life cycle components - Continued
Assurance of the quality of the external parts
Subcontractors and customers frequently join the directly contracted developers (the suppliers) in carrying out software development projects.
The larger and more complex the project, the greater the possibility that external participants will be required. (why we may need to subcontract part or all of the project?)
Most of the SQA controls applied to external participants are defined in the contracts signed between the relevant parties.

8. 3. Management SQA Components
Managerial SQA components support the managerial control of software development projects and maintenance services.
Control components include:
Project progress control
Software quality metrics
Software quality costs.

9. 3. Management SQA Components - continued
Project progress control
To detect the appearance of any situation that may make difference from the projects plans and maintenance performance. Project control activities include: Resource usage, Schedules, Risk management and Budget
Software quality metrics
measurement is an effective tool for the support of control activities and the initiation of process improvements.

10. 3. Management SQA Components - continued
Software quality costs
Management is especially interested in the total sum of the quality costs.
Quality cost analysis can help in identifying those teams whose ineffective quality assurance efforts result in higher than average quality cost. The results can then be used to help the teams improve

11. 4. Infrastructure components for error avoidance and improvement
Goal of infrastructure are the avoidance of software faults or at least lowering faults rates as well as improving the productivity
SQA infrastructure components include:
Procedures and work instructions
Procedures are planned to be generally applicable and to serve the entire organization.

12. 4. Infrastructure components for error avoidance and improvement
Staff training, retraining and certification
Preventive and corrective actions
Implementation of changes that prevent similar failures in the future.
Correction of similar faults found in among the activities performed by other teams.
Implementing proven successful methodologies to enhance the probability of repeat successes.
The sources of these data are design review reports, software test reports, and customers’ complaints.

13. 4. Infrastructure components for error avoidance and improvement
Configuration management
Configuration management deals with modifying software to create new versions and releases by introducing procedures to control the change process.
Documentation control

14. 5. SQA standards, system certification and assessment components
Objectives:
Utilization of international professional knowledge
Objective professional evaluation and measurement of the organization’s SQA achievement
The standards available may be classified into two sub-classes: Quality management standards and Project process standards.

15. 5. SQA standards, system certification and assessment components
Quality management standards
These standards focus on what is required and leave the decision about how to achieve it to the organization.
The application of a managerial quality system provides a fairly objective assessment of the organization’s achievements.
Organizations that comply with quality achievement requirements can then seek SQA certification.
Examples of this type of standard are:
CMMI
ISO 9001,

16. 5. SQA standards, system certification and assessment components
Project process standards
Project process standards are professional standards that provide practical guidelines (dealing with the question of “how”) for the development team.
Well-known examples of this type of standards are:
ISO 12207
ISO 1012

17. Tight and loose customer-supplier relationship
Software projects developed by software houses for to the use of other companies are usually known as external projects or outside-contracted projects . Usually characterized by strong/tight customer-supplier relationship
Software projects developed by one unit of an organization to another unit in the same organization is usually known as internal project or in-house projects (the majority of projects). Usually characterized by weak/loose customer-supplier relationship

18. Types of Internal Projects
Administrative or operative software to be applied internally, such as Sales systems, Financial systems, HR systems and management systems
Software packages originally intended to be sold to the public as packages, such as computer games, educational software, word processors and sales packages
Common to all these project types is the fact that no external body contributes as client in their development.

19. Thank you…

20. Quiz 1
Q1) Briefly describe the Objectives of using SQA standards and certifications.
Q2) Discuss briefly the Management SQA Components.