Software quality

Tricode Professional Serviceswww.tricode.nl

14-07-2008Sander van Beek

What is quality?

“Degree to which a set of inherent characteristic fulfils

requirements”- ISO 9000

“Degree to which a set of inherent characteristic fulfils requirements”

- ISO 9000

“Uniformity around a target value”

- Six Sigma

“Fitness for use”

- Joseph M. Juran

“Products and services that meet or exceed customers’ expectations”

- Noriaki Kano et al.

“The result of care”

- Robert Pirsig

What isn’t quality?

• Price• Effort• Production process

(as long as the process is not the product)

Functionality

Efficiency Maintainability

Usability

Portability

Reliability

(extended)ISO 9126

Functionality

A set of attributes that bear on the existence of a set of functions and their specified properties. The functions are those that satisfy stated or implied needs.

Functionality

• Suitability• Accuracy• Interoperability• Compliance• Security• Traceabilty

Functionality: suitability

Attribute that bears on the presence and appropriateness of a set of functions for specified tasks.

Functionality: accuracy

Attributes that bear on the provision of right or agreed results or effects.

Functionality: interoperability

Attributes that bear on its ability to interact with specified systems.

Functionality: compliance

Attributes that make the software adhere to application related standards, conventions or regulations in laws and similar prescriptions.

Functionality: security

Attributes that bear on its ability to prevent unauthorised access, whether accidental or deliberate, to programs and data.

Functionality: traceability

Attributes that bear on the effort needed to verify correctness of data processing on required points.

Reliability

A set of attributes that bear on the capability to maintain its level of performance under stated conditions for a stated period.

Reliability

• Maturity• Fault tolerance• Recoverability• Availability• Degradability

Reliability: maturity

Attributes that bear on the frequency of failure by faults in the software.

Reliability: fault tolerance

Attributes that bear on its ability to maintain a specified level of performance in cases of software faults or of infringement of its specified interface.

Reliability: recoverability

Attributes that bear on the capability to re-establish its level of performance and recover the data directly affected in case of a failure and on the time and effort needed for it.

Reliability: availability

Attributes that bear on the amount of time the product is available to the user at the time it is needed.

Reliability: degradability

Attributes that bear on the effort needed to re-establish the essential functionality after a breakdown.

Usability

A set of attributes that bear on the effort needed for use, and on the individual assessment of such use, by a stated or implied set of users.

Usability

• Understandability• Learnability• Operability• Explicitness• Customisability• Attractivity

• Clarity• Helpfulness• User-friendliness

Usability: understandability

Attributes that bear on the users' effort for recognising the logical concept and its applicability.

Usability: learnability

Attributes that bear on the users' effort for learning its application (for example, control, input, output).

Usability: operability

Attributes that bear on the users' effort for operation and operation control.

Usability: explicitness

Attributes that bear on the clarity of the software product with regard to its status (progression bars, etc.).

Usability: customisability

Attributes that enable the software to be customised by the user to reduce the effort required for use and increase satisfaction with the software.

Usability: attractivity

Attributes that bear on the satisfaction of latent user desires and preferences, through services, behaviour and presentation beyond actual demand.

Usability: clarity

Attributes that bear on the clarity of making the user aware of the functions it can perform.

Usability: helpfulness

Attributes that bear on the availability of instructions for the user on how to interact with it.

Usability: user-friendliness

Attributes that bear on the users' satisfaction.

Efficiency

A set of attributes that bear on the relationship between the level of performance of the software and the amount of resources used, under stated conditions.

Efficiency

• Time behaviour• Resource behaviour

Efficiency: time behaviour

Attributes that bear on response and processing times and on throughput rates in performing its function.

Efficiency: resource behaviour

Attributes that bear on the amount of resources used and the duration of such use in performing its function.

Maintainability

A set of attributes that bear on the effort needed to make specified modifications.

Maintainability

• Analysability• Changeability• Stability• Testability• Manageability• Reuseability

Maintainability: analysability

Attributes that bear on the effort needed for diagnosis of deficiencies or causes of failures, or for identification of parts to be modified.

Maintainability: changeability

Attributes that bear on the effort needed for modification, fault removal or for environmental change.

Maintainability: stability

Attributes that bear on the risk of unexpected effect of modifications.

Maintainability: testability

Attributes that bear on the effort needed for validating the modified software.

Maintainability: manageability

Attributes that bear on the effort needed to (re)establish its running status.

Maintainability: reusability

Attributes that bear on its potential for complete or partial reuse in another softwareproduct.

Portability

A set of attributes that bear on the ability of software to be transferred from one environment to another.

Portability

• Adaptability• Installability• Conformance• Replaceability

Portability: adaptability

Attributes that bear on the opportunity for its adaptation to different specified environments without applying other actions or means than those provided for this purpose for the software in question.

Portability: installability

Attributes that bear on the effort needed to install the software in a specified environment.

Portability: conformance

Attributes that make the software adhere to standards or conventions relating to portability.

Portability: replaceability

Attributes that bear on the opportunity and effort of using it in the place of specified other software in the environment of that software.