Software Quality

Assurance
and Testing
Lecture 4
Software Quality Assurance
Software Quality Assurance (SQA)
Plans

Outline

Cost of Quality
Definitions
Purpose of SQA Plan

Contents of SQA Plan

Software Quality Assurance an

overview

Cost of Quality

Cost of quality --> includes all costs incurred in

the pursuit of quality or perform quality related
work
External failure costs
Prevention costs includeare
quality planning
complaint resolution
formal technical reviews
product return and
test equipment
replacement
Training
help line support
Internal failure costs include
warranty work
rework
repair
failure mode analysis
Software Quality Assurance &
Testing

Definitions

Software Quality Assurance

Set of systematic activities providing

evidence of the ability of the software
process to produce a software product that
is fit to use
G. Schulmeyer and J. McManus, Software Quality Handbook, Prentice Hall,
1998.

Quality assurance plan is the central aid

for planning and checking the quality
assurance.
Software Quality Assurance &
Testing

Purpose of SQA Plan

This document describes the procedures

and control methods to obtain the desired
quality level of the end products and the
process by which these end products are
created.
This document serves as a guide for the
managers and developers of the project.
It should be produced very early in
software development project.
It may not exists as a separate document,
Software Quality Assuranceinto
&
it could be incorporated
projects
5
Testing

Contents of SQA Plan

Purpose of Plan

Referenced
documents

Management

Documentatio
n

Standards,
Practices and
Conventions

Reviews and
Audits

Configuration
Management

Problem
Reporting and
Corrective
action

Tools,
Techniques and
Methodologies

Code Control

Media Control

Supplier control

Records
Collection,
Maintenance
and Retention
Software Quality Assurance &
Testing

Purpose

States the specific purpose and scope of

the SQA plan.

Software Quality Assurance &

Testing

Referenced Documents

A complete list of the documents

referenced in the plan.

For e.g.,

Project Overview version 1.0

Project Plan version 1.0
Software Requirements Specification
IEEE Guide for Software Quality Assurance
Planning

Software Quality Assurance &

Testing

Management

IEEE standard lays down three aspects:

Organization structure

Hierarchy

SQA tasks

Preparing :
SRS, SQA plan, software development plan,
Software requirement review,
Software test plan,
Draft support documents, e.g., user manuals etc,
Design reviews
Software Quality Assurance &
Testing

Management Contd

Roles and responsibilities related to product

quality
The project managers and design/development
teams have primary responsibility for the quality
controls.
The quality manager will:
Define the responsibilities of quality personnel
Agree to quality plan with project manager
Approve the plan of audit
Resolves disagreement between project manager
and quality personnel
Reviews the activities performed
Software Quality
Assurance & procedures,
Review the contents
of
quality
10
Testing
software standards, etc.

Management Contd

Quality personnel will:

Carry out internal audit of the project

Agree on corrective actions
Evaluate defect trends and take
appropriate actions
Refer and unresolved discrepancies to the
quality manager for resolution.

Software Quality Assurance &

Testing

11

Documents

Purpose of this section is to describe the

documentation to be produced and how it
is to be reviewed.
Software requirement specification
Software design specification
Software verification plan
Software quality objectives

Software Quality Assurance &

Testing

12

Standards, Practices and

Conventions

SQA plan should contain the following:

Documentation standards
Coding standards
Commentary standards

Software Quality Assurance &

Testing

13

Reviews and Audits

This section states that which technical

and managerial reviews will be
undertaken and how they will be carried
out.
The ANSI standard (American National
Standards Institute) suggests following:

SRS review
Preliminary design review
Critical design review
Software verification review , etc.
Software Quality Assurance &
Testing

14

Problem Reporting, Tracking,

and Resolving

Describe the practices and procedures to

be followed for reporting, tracking, and
resolving problems

Who can report a problem?

How is it reported?
How is it tracked?
Who determines if it is a problem that going to
be resolved?
How is it assigned for resolution?
How does the person indicate it has been
corrected?
Quality Assurance &
Who reviews Software
it
to
determine if it can
15 be closed?
Testing

Problem Reporting and

Corrective
Action
This section describes
the system which ensures

that software problems are documented and

resolved
All the problems should be

Promptly reported at appropriate level, acted upon

and resolved.
Should be capable of being tracked throughout the
lifecycle.
Should be analyzed to determine its significance
and causes and classified according t category.
Should have security level and priority number.
Some corrective action and target completion date
should be identified.
Informed to appropriate
level of management.
Software Quality Assurance &
16
Testing
Corrective action
taken will be evaluated
to ensure

Tools, techniques, training

What tools?

What techniques?

e.g., excel spreadsheet for problem

reporting/tracking, ...
e.g., formal peer review for deliverables,
checklists for defect detection, ...

What training is needed on tools,

techniques?

Software Quality Assurance &

Testing

17

Configuration Management

Software configuration management has

four major activities:

Identification

Refers to the general structure of the product

being produced and how the items (modules,
classes) are to be identified

Control

Refers to the methods to be implemented for the

management and technical control of
configuration items.

Software Quality Assurance &

Testing

18

Configuration Management

Status accounting

Refers to reporting to all concerned

management, client and technical- information
describing items and their status

Auditing

Refers to activities, which are designed to

assure the correct functioning of SCM
system

Software Quality Assurance &

Testing

19

Code Control
It is implemented in conjunction with
library function
The library

Receives and maintains copies of all the

software tools and documentation.
It will issue all the material and ensure that
most recently authorized version is the one
available.
Access is controlled to ensure that no
unauthorized use or modification takes
place.
Software Quality Assurance &
20
Testing
It also ensures
that correct version
of

Media Control

This section describes how the media are to

be protected from unauthorized access or
damage . At least one backup copy of the
current configuration should be held safely in
a remote off-site location . Security threats
to the software project come from the
following environment factors.

Fire damage
Water damage
Energy variation
Unauthorized intrusion
Viruses
Misuse of software,
data
and
services
Software Quality
Assurance
&
Testing

21

Records Collection, and

Maintenance

It is necessary to ensure the availability of

all records and documents quickly and
efficiently when required

This section will identify who is responsible

for ensuring that the appropriate
documents will be produced and stored

Software Quality Assurance &

Testing

22

Supplier Control

This is in relevance when outsourcing some

of the components of the project. It is
important to ensure that the externally
developed software is of appropriate quality.
Under CMM-1 Supplier Agreement
Management is a new area. This section
describes how

To ensure that sub-contractors implement a QA

plan.
The software received must be evaluated and
tested before use.

In some cases like re-usable objects little can

be done. SameSoftware
is the
Operating
Qualitycase
Assurancewith
&
23
Testing
Systems. If the supplier is in dominant