Software Engineering: Quality Standards

Questions and Answers

At which CMM level are the software processes characterized as ad hoc and occasionally chaotic?

Level 2: Repeatable

Level 3: Defined

Level 1: Initial (correct)

Level 5: Optimizing

What is the main goal of separating quality management from project management?

To merge the responsibilities of project managers and quality managers

To reduce the importance of quality management in software development

To ensure quality considerations are not compromised by concerns of budget and schedule (correct)

To increase the budget for quality considerations

What is the primary purpose of ISO 9000 certification?

To meet industry standards for quality management (correct)

To reduce the cost of software development

To improve the quality of software products

To increase the profitability of software companies

At which CMM level are the software processes for both management and engineering activities documented, standardized, and integrated?

Level 3: Defined Signup and view all the answers

What is the main advantage of having SQA tasks in place and a quality management process?

To have most of the ISO elements in place Signup and view all the answers

What is the total number of items in the CMM questionnaire?

85 Signup and view all the answers

What is the main characteristic of Level 2: Repeatable in the CMM model?

Basic project management processes are established to track cost, schedule, and functionality Signup and view all the answers

What is the main purpose of the CMM model?

To identify the key practices that are required to increase the maturity of software processes Signup and view all the answers

At which CMM level are the software processes optimized?

Level 5: Optimizing Signup and view all the answers

What is the main difference between Level 3: Defined and Level 2: Repeatable in the CMM model?

Level 3: Defined has more emphasis on documentation and standardization of software processes Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Quality Standards

Standards are essential for effective quality management and can be international, national, organizational, or project-specific.
Product standards define characteristics that all components should exhibit, such as a common programming style.
Process standards define how the software process should be enacted.

Importance of Standards

They encapsulate best practices, avoiding repetition of past mistakes.
They provide a framework for the quality assurance process, involving checking standard compliance.
They ensure continuity, enabling new staff to understand the organization by understanding applied standards.

Well-known Quality Standards

ISO 9000 (International Standards Organization) is an international set of standards for quality management.
CMM (Capability Maturity Model) was developed by the SEI.

ISO 9000 Standards

They are applicable to a range of organizations, from manufacturing to service industries.
ISO 9001:2000 specifies requirements for a quality management system, aiming to enhance customer satisfaction.
ISO 9004:2000 provides guidance for continual improvement of a quality management system, benefiting all parties.

ISO 9000 Certification

Quality standards and procedures should be documented in an organizational quality manual.
An external body may certify that an organization's quality manual conforms to ISO 9000 standards.
Customers increasingly demand that suppliers are ISO 9000 certified.

ISO 9000 Certification Challenges

ISO 9000 standards are documentation-based, requiring formal documents for every step of every process.
Most companies (60-70%) fail the ISO audit the first time, often due to deficiencies in corrective actions and document control.

ISO 9000 and Quality Management

An organization with SQA tasks in place and a quality management process would have most of ISO elements.
Ideally, quality management should be separate from project management to ensure quality considerations are not compromised by budget and schedule concerns.

CMM Standard

CMM is a model for judging the maturity of an organization's software processes and identifying key practices to increase maturity.
Assessment uses an 85-item questionnaire, and the model consists of 5 levels: Initial, Repeatable, Defined, Managed, and Optimizing.

CMM Levels

Level 1: Initial - ad hoc and chaotic, with few defined processes.
Level 2: Repeatable - basic project management processes established to track cost, schedule, and functionality.
Level 3: Defined - software process for both management and engineering activities are documented, standardized, and integrated.
Level 4: Managed - process discipline is in place to repeat earlier successes.
Level 5: Optimizing - continuous improvement of processes.