S Q A

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S Q A
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What is "Quality"?

• "Quality of Design" and "Quality of Conformance"
  -- Roger Pressman
• User Satisfaction
• compliant product
• good quality
• delivery within budget and schedule
• -- Robert Glass

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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.

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SQA Components

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

Software Quality Assurance by Galin
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1. Pre-Project Components

• Contract Review
• Development and Quality Plans
• Development Plans
• schedules
• manpower requirements
• tools
• Quality Plans
• measurable quality goals
• success criteria for each project phase
• scheduled VV activities

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Obvious Question

• 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

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IEEE 730 - Standard for SQA Plans

• Plan Sections
• Purpose
• Reference Documents
• Management
• Documentation
• Standards, Practices, and Conventions
• Reviews and Audits
• Software Configuration Management
• Problem Reporting and Corrective Action
• Tools Techniques and Methodologies
• Code Control
• Media Control
• Supplier Control
• Records Collection, Maintenance, and Retention

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2. Life Cycle Components

• Software Testing
• Reviews
• varying levels of formality
• specs, designs, code modules, documents, etc
• Maintenance
• corrective
• adaptive
• functional

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Formal Technical Reviews

• FTRs are the primary quality control activity.
• Justification
• to err is human
• other people are better at finding our faults
  than we are
• good way for other people to learn details about
  another part of the project

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FTR Guidelines

• 3 to 5 people
• includes the producer, review leader, recorder
• no more than two hours preparation
• small portions only
• narrow focus increases likelihood of find an
  error
• meeting duration less than two hours
• outcome accept, accept pending changes, reject
• report is signed and saved

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FTR Guidelines

• Review the Product, not the person!
• Set an agenda and keep it.
• Limit debate and rebuttal.
• Find errors, don't try to solve them.
• Take written notes.
• Limit number of participants and have advance
  preparation.
• Allocate resources and schedule time for FTRs.
• Conduct training for reviewers.
• Review your earlier reviews.

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3. Error Prevention and Improvement Infrastructure

• work procedures
• templates and checklists
• staff training
• preventive actions
• configuration control
• document control

Next Slide
see link to NASA
Last Class
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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

Galin page 316
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4. Management Components

• Project Progress
• schedules, budgets, risk analysis,
• Quality Metrics
• Quality Costs

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Statistical SQA

1. Info about defects are collected and categorized.
2. Defects are traced to their root cause.
3. Isolate the vital 20
4. 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"
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5. SQA Assessment

• Quality Management Standards
• SEI CMM
• ISO 9001

Details o'plenty Next Week
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SEI CMM Levels

• Initial
• ad hoc, perhaps chaotic
• Repeatable
• tracks costs, has a schedule
• similar projects can repeat earlier successes
• Defined
• process in documented and standardized
• Managed
• detailed process and product measurements
• Optimizing
• continuous process improvement

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ISO Standards for Quality

• ISO 9000 Quality Management and Quality
  Assurance Standards - Guidelines for selection
  and use
• ISO 9001 Quality Systems - Model for quality
  assurance in design/development, installation,
  and servicing
• ISO 9000-3 Guidelines to applying 9001 to
  software

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ISO 9000

• ISO 9000 seeks to set criteria which achieve a
  goal and is not prescriptive as to methods. The
  requirements come in Sections 4 to 8.
• Section 4 is entitled General Requirements
• Section 5 is entitled Management Responsibility
• Section 6 is entitled Resource Management
• Section 7 is entitled Product Realization
• Section 8 is entitled Measurement, analysis and
  improvement
• In each of these areas, ISO 9001 2000 seeks to
  set out key requirements, which if met will
  ensure quality.

http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_9000
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Other Quality-Related Standards

• ANSI/IEEE 730 - Standard for Software Quality
  Assurance Plans
• ANSI/IEEE 983 - Software Quality Assurance
  Planning
• ANSI/IEEE 1028 - Standard for Software Reviews
  and Audits
• ANSI/IEEE 1012 - Standard for Software
  Verification and Validation

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6. Human Components

• Management
• SQA Unit
• SQA committees and forums

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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.

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When is enough enough?
SQA Failure
Costs
Cost of SQA
Cost of Failure
Software Quality
Optimal Quality Level
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Summary

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

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Next Time

• SEI CMM
• ISO 9001