Software Quality Assurance (SQA) Intro

• Coursework makes up 50 marks, midterm exam 20 marks, coursework 30 marks. Lecture quiz 10 marks, lecture assignment 10 marks, lab final 10 marks. Final exam is worth 50 marks

Definition of Software (IEEE)

• Software consists of computer programs, procedures, associated documentation, and data
• All of these elements contribute to the operation of a computer system

Types of Documentation

• Developers, users, and maintenance personnel need different types of documentation.
• Development documentation includes requirements reports, design reports, program descriptions.
• User documentation provides manuals.
• Maintenance documentation gives programmers manuals.

Role of Software Quality Assurance (SQA)

• Software Quality Assurance is an ongoing process
• SQA makes certain software products meet standards, and standardized quality specifications
• SQA focuses on process standards, project audits, and development procedures
• Evaluation and improvement of processes are key to deliver quality products

Software Quality Categories

• Software function quality pertains to adherence to design specifications based on functional standards
• Software structural quality measures satisfaction of non-functional qualities like security, accessibility, scalability and reliability

Benefits of Software Quality Assurance

• SQA is a cost-effective measure
• Defects are expensive, fixes/patches/upgrades are expensive
• It increases customer trust in an organization
• Product safety and reliability are overall improved with SQA

Further Benefits of SQA

• Maintenance expenses are lowered
• System failures are guarded against

Continuous Improvement (PDCA) Cycle

• PDCA cycle is fundamental to SQA
• The PDCA Cycle also known as the Deming Cycle
• Comprises four phases: Plan, Do, Check, Act
• PDCA is a method for continuous process and product improvement

Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) Cycle Benefits

• PDCA efficiently solves problems for teams
• Has advantages such as stimulating continuous improvement, enabling small scale testing in controlled environments, and preventing recurring mistakes

PDCA - Plan

• The plan phase involves determining what needs to be done depending on project size
• Planning usually consists of smaller steps for better plans and reduced failure possibilities
• Planning involves:
  • Identifying the core problems
  • Determining needed and available resources
  • Finding the best solutions with available resources
  • Setting conditions for success and goals

PDCA - Do

• This stage applies everything considered during the planning stage
• Be aware of unpredicted problems
• Try to incorporate your plan on a small scale and in a controlled environment
• Standardization helps the team smoothly apply the plan
• Everyone should know their roles and responsibilities

PDCA - Check

• Audit the plan's execution to see if it works
• Identify any problem parts of the process to eliminate them in the future
• If things went wrong, analyze what wrong and the root cause

PDCA - Act

• When the team achieves the original goals, proceed and apply the initial plan
• Adopt the whole plan if objectives are met
• The PDCA model becomes the new standard baseline, and remind your team to improve it carefully

Quality Control (QC) Defined

• Quality Control is routine, technical activities used to measure and control the quality of an inventory as it is being developed

QC Objectives

• QC provides routine and consistent checks to ensure data integrity, correctness, and completeness
• QC identifies and addresses errors and omissions
• The QC documents, archives and records all QC activities

Quality Assurance vs. Quality Control

• It is a must that organizations must agree on what both QA and QC mean as a component of their strategy
• QC focuses on finding defects and is product-oriented
• QA focuses on preventing defects and is process-oriented

QA vs QC Differences

QA vs QC Similarities

• Both QA and QC adhere to quality assurance requirements
• Both improve the product manufacturing process through feedback loops and continuous learning
• QA and QC enables companies to improve Defect detection, test automation, data collecting, and user experience

Areas for Quality Improvement

• QA is proactive and process-oriented, looking at processes, gathering feedback, and processes compliance
• QC is reactive and product-oriented, lab testing, gathering feedback, looking for defects

Cost of Quality (CoQ)

• The Cost of Quality is a method for calculating costs companies saving that products meet quality standards, as well as when goods fail to meet standards
• Cost of good quality
  • Prevention
  • Appraisal
• Cost of poor quality
  • Internal failure
  • External failures

Components of CoQ

• Prevention Cost: Activities to prevent poor quality
• Appraisal Cost: Measuring, inspecting, and auditing to ensure conformation to standards
• Internal Failure Cost: Costs from product failure to conform before it is shipped
• External Failure Cost: Costs from product failure to conform after it is shipped

Prevention Cost Examples

• Costs of new products, supplier surveys, design reviews, planning, team meetings, quality improvement, education, and training

Appraisal Costs Examples

• Costs of inspection or testing of purchased material, test of inspection/test, service audits, calibration, associated supplies and materials

Internal Failure Costs Examples

• Scrap, rework, re-inspection, re-testing, material review, downgrading

External Failure Costs Examples

• Processing customer complaints, customer returns, warranty claims, and product recalls

Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI)

• CMMI is a process-level improvement training and appraisal program
• Administered by the CMMI Institute
• CMMI can be used to guide process improvement
• This can be done across an entire organization, a single division, or even a project

More on CMMI

• Capability model integration builds/benchmarks key capabilities to improve business
• CMMI focuses on improving operations to business goals
• Accessible, understandable, flexible, as well as Agile
• CMMI has a guide to optimize business results for an organization

CMMI Maturity Levels

• Level 1: Initial
• Level 2: Managed
• Level 3: Defined
• Level 4: Quantitatively Managed
• Level 5: Optimizing

Process Quality Assurance (PQA)

• Objectively assess processes, work products, and series
• Identifies and documents noncompliance issues
• Provides feedback

PQA Evaluations

• Objectivity is critical
• Evaluators should not evaluate their own work
• Evaluations are a check of work products and standards

Objective Evaluation Methods

• Formal audits
• Peer reviews
• In-depth reviews
• Distributed reviews
• Automated process checks

Poka-yoke Mechanism

• It’s a quality assurance process
• Poka-yoke develops processes to fix defects to warnings

Example Work Products from PQA

• Criteria
• Checklists
• Evaluation reports
• Noncompliance reports
• Improvement proposals

Noncompliance Issues

• They are caused when team members do not follow standards
• Tracked over time to provide an indication of quality trends
• Fix issues and escalate if need be

Opportunities for Improvement

• Identifying more efficient ways to perform work improves the organization's objectives
• Quality assurance opportunities:
  1. Evaluating the process as performed
  2. Identifying ways that the process can be improved
  3. Submitting improvement proposals
• Quality assurance must closely evaluate process management

Importance of Quality Assurance

• Planning helps to optimize resource use and focus in projects where they're most likely to have issues

Process Assets

• Process assets are what organizations use as their resources and guide for projects
• Examples:
  • Templates
  • Plans
  • Best practice examples
  • Approved methods for use
  • Guidelines

Process Architecture

• It defines the structure necessary to contain process assets and connections

Process Adaptation/Tailoring

• Process consistency ensures that organizational standards, objectives, and strategies are addressed and shared
• Adaptation is a critical ability that controls changes to specific needs
• Tailoring of processes should be constrained as well as accounting for objectives
• These guidelines allow flexibility when dealing with critical issues

Work Environment Standards

• These environment standards benefits save on costs and training

Quality Assurance Relation to Validation & Verification

• Verification focuses on requirements
• Validation ensures the product works
• Quality assurance focuses on validation

V-Model

• The V-model is an SDLC model where execution of processes happens sequentially in a V-shape
• Also called a verification and validation model
• Based on testing phase for each development stage

Waterfall Model

• Requirements definition:
  • Gathering needs for costumers
• Functional system design:
  • Maps requirements and functions of a system

Continued V-Model

• Technical system design implements a system with interface and definitions
• Component specifications define each subsystem
• Programming involves code

V-Model Testing

• Component tests verify the ability for components to fulfill their specification
• Integration tests check if groups of components interact as specified

V-Model Testing

• System testing verifies system requirements are met
• Acceptance tests check if system user needs are met

Quality Factors

• Correctness: program satisfies specifications
• Reliability: extent of function
• Efficiency: amount of computing resources that programs require
• Integrity: can data by unauthorized people be controlled
• Usability: how easy is it to learn
• Maintainability: effort required to locate/fix defects
• Testability: can the program be tested
• Flexibility: can it be modified
• Portability: transfer from one hardware to another
• Reusability: extend of software reuse
• Interoperability: extent of system coupling

Broad Objectives, Quality Categories and Quality Factors