Quality Assurance

The IEEE definition for software quality assurance is as follows −

"A planned and systematic pattern of all actions necessary to provide adequate confidence that an item or product conforms to established technical requirements. A set of activities designed to evaluate the process by which the products are developed or manufactured."

Objectives of SQA Activities

The objectives of SQA activities are as follows −

In Software development (process-oriented)

• Assuring an acceptable level of confidence that the software will conform to functional technical requirements.

• Assuring an acceptable level of confidence that the software will conform to managerial scheduling and budgetary requirements.

• Initiating and managing activities for the improvement and greater efficiency of software development and SQA activities.

In Software maintenance (product-oriented)

• Assuring with an acceptable level of confidence that the software maintenance activities will conform to the functional technical requirements.

• Assuring with an acceptable level of confidence that the software maintenance activities will conform to managerial scheduling and budgetary requirements.

• Initiating and managing activities to improve and increase the efficiency of software maintenance and SQA activities. This involves improving the prospects of achieving functional and managerial requirements while reducing costs.

Organizing for Quality Assurance

The quality assurance organizational framework that operates within the organizational structure includes the following participants −

Managers

• Top management executives, especially the executive directly in charge of software quality assurance

• Software development and maintenance department managers

• Software testing department managers

• Project managers and team leaders of development and maintenance projects

• Leaders of software testing teams

Testers

• Members of software testing teams

SQA professionals and interested practitioners −

• SQA trustees
• SQA committee members
• SQA forum members
• SQA unit team members

Only the managers and employees of the software testing department are occupied full time in the performance of SQA tasks. The others dedicate part of their time to quality issues, whether during fulfilment of their managerial functions or professional tasks, or as volunteers in others, most often a SQA committee, a SQA forum, or as SQA trustees.