Software Quality Assesment - Coursework Example

? Software Quality Assessment Affiliation: Software Product Quality Quality product assurance is whereby the end product is supposed to be in line with initially decided specifications, values and functions according to how it was stipulated to function without any shortcomings or any possibility of there been a problem. Quality assurance scrutinizes and attempts to make better the manufacturing process from the start of the production process to the end. This ensures that there is prevention of any unforeseen defects. When started from the beginning of the product manufacture, the involved parties are able to consult with each other and understand the defects that arise as they progress to several stages of production. Quality is a difficult and comprehensive idea that always is determined by several factors. This could either be from the transcendental point of view that views quality as an idea that is recognizable but hard to describe. From users’ point of view quality is the ability of a product to accomplish its reason for being manufactured. Manufacturers see quality as sticking to laid down product qualifications. the products point of view that views quality as been one and the same to with definite features of a software and finally the value based point of view that views quality in relation to how much the final user is willing and able to pay so as to acquire it. There are several ways that the quality of software is ensured during manufacturing process (Tian 2005). These are: Software Testing Software testing is a systematic process mainly dedicated to the detection software defects. The product being manufactured is put to test under conditions that can be manipulated. This could be in special control rooms within the company premise specially designed for this type of work. The main reason the manufacturers ensure that such an environment should be in a position to be manipulated is because the manufacturers intend to create several scenarios whereby things go wrong when they are not supposed to and then they find ways to deal with the problem. Software Verification and Validation The verification process is undertaken so that the product is cleared of unforeseen malfunctions right before the testing process commences. Verification is made up of evaluations, meetings, assessing plans, policies, check ups, specifications among other details. On the other hand, validation comes immediately after validation and is the definite analysis of the product to establish its shortcomings that might arise due to malfunctions. Test Case A test case is a document that outlines the contributions, actions or events and the probable reactions of software. This assists the manufacturers/programmers to find out whether all aspects of the products are in the expected working status. This document contains s specifics such as the test case identifier, name, purpose, test circumstances, procedure as well as the expected outcomes. Good Design A good design is achieved when the general make up of the product is understandable, effortlessly adjustable and easy to preserve. The perfect design of a product always relies on the final users requirements. There are those products meant for commercial use thus this are made more complicated and very efficient than those meant for private/home use. Software Inspection This is a process meant to uncover imperfections and problems especially in records stipulating specifications, coding, and test cases among other issues (Rombach 1993). It is imperative to understand that this process just detects a hitch and notifies the manufacturers however it is not a process for rectification of such a problem. Most of the time in software quality checking procedures, it is very cost effective. It is open to many observers but only a single reader, moderator and a single individual for taking notes is required. Walkthrough This is a spontaneous and off the record meeting that is meant for analyzing the product. This is always attended by the management of the company, top designers of the product, financiers, critics as well as the media. It is done to those products that are deemed complicated to operate thus cannot be just released to the market. Test Engineer Any computer manufacturing company employs the services of such a test engineer. This is a person or group of people with the ability to come up with situations that an inexperienced individual can experience while using the software. The engineer has an obsession with quality and is very conversant with small issues that might not be recognizable to all but can make software less perfect. Empirical model for improved quality (EMIQ) Quality assessment of software is carried out according to the four stages of quality improvement ((Kontio & Conradi 2002, p. 17), they include: 1. Ad hoc quality- software organizations rely on unstructured, unplanned testing for quality control. Most organizations have relied on this method despite being unreliable. 2. Release control- the software is tested for quality late in the project life cycle just before it is released to the consumers. 3. Quality discipline- quality processes planned and measured; quality assets managed. This stage is necessary because organizations may be dissatisfied with the extra delays and costs that isolated testing had caused. 4. Quality optimization- this stage involves risk-based quality management throughout the life cycle of software development. There is need for quality, cost effectiveness for software. This can be assured through preventing defects and risk-based testing. Software quality and capability maturity model Software developers have over the years taken an approach to software quality that is inspection-based. They have used code-inspection and testing to assure that products are free of any defects in logical structure. However, users of software applications have taken a much broader view of software quality and have included such additional product aspects as functionality, usability, portability, reliability and utility. These measures of quality are normally employed in the design stage and maintained through an upgrade process. The assurance of software quality requires a commitment that encompasses the entire life cycle of the software. Capability Maturity Model (CMM) is one of the approaches taken to ensure quality software. CMM was developed by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI). The CMM assures software quality through a comprehensive product development infrastructure that is based on test practices in software engineering. In addition, CMM assure software quality through a certification program that provides management with confidence that their products are of high quality (Kontio and Conradi, 2002; 37). Reference Tian, J. (2005). Software Quality Engineering: Testing, Quality Assurance, and Quantifiable Improvement. New Jersey. USA. John Wiley & Sons. Rombach, D. & Selby R. (1993) Experimental Software Engineering Issues: Critical Assessment and Future Directions. International Workshop Proceedings: Volume 706 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science. New York, USA. Springer Publishers. Kontio, Jand Conradi, R (2002), Software Quality-ECSQ 2002: quality connection, New York; Springer Read More