Software Quality Assurance

Software Quality Assurance

Software Quality Assurance

Introduction

Every corporate culture adds its own distinct tone to the methods and procedures put in place to implement basic quality assurance. In some companies, an adversarial relationship between development and quality control might need to be refocused on the premise of a product team rather than a departmental team. In other companies, the collective ego of the development staff might need to be brought into perspective, or the attitude of quality assurance might require adjustment. Before trying to implement basic quality assurance activities, it makes sense to assess what changes, if any, need to be addressed within the organization itself. Once this is done, the next step is to determine how and when the quality activities will occur (Verts, 2008, pp. 110-115).

This will form the fundamental process that will affect the final value of the software product. There are lists of the quality activities that can be used to strengthen the development effort and build in quality. These quality activities correspond to the basic development life cycle; that is, the six phases needed to bring a software or a new technology product into existence. These phases are shown in this study in relation to the given case.

Discussion

The trick to making them work is to make sure that all of the developers and quality assurance engineers understand what is meant by each of the activities, and that they know when and how the activities will be conducted within the organization. The organization must also address the formality with which the activities themselves will be implemented. Custom software that is developed for private and government customers requires a higher degree of formality than software developed for resale in the commercial marketplace. Formality lends uniformity to a process but does not necessarily make the process better (Stallman, 2007, pp. 250-255).

In other words, it is just as valid to have requirements documented in a series of e-mails, as it is to have them packaged in a three-ring binder and documented in a special format with lots of words wrapped around them. The important thing is for requirements to be specifically stated, reviewed, clarified, and used to map all activities throughout the development project (Shiels, 2008, pp. 10-18).

The Lack Of Following Significant Factors In The Organisation

Requirements Analysis

Requirements are the expression of what machinery and software is supposed to be and do, once it is developed. They comprise the wants and needs of the software end users. In some companies, it will be the genuine end user who provides requirements. This is generally the case when a business is using an independent company to develop the software it needs, as is common in government, banking, and some retail companies. In other companies, customer needs will be identified by input from marketing and field representatives. This is generally true for commercial product development companies (Rothwell, 2008, pp. 50-55). These companies create software for other companies to use, such as payroll software, graphic software, and ...