SQA – SWE 333
Software Quality Assurance
Prof. Dr. Mohamed BATOUHE
Dept. of Software Engineering
CCIS – King Saud University
1
The scope of quality management standards
2
The Benefits of using Standards
* The ability to apply methodologies and procedures of the highest professional level.
* Better mutual understanding and coordination among development teams but
especially between development and maintenance teams.
* Greater cooperation between the software developer and external participants in
the project.
* Better understanding and cooperation between suppliers and customers, based on
the adoption of standards as part of the contract.
3
Organizations involved in SQA
Standards Development
Most prominent developers of SQA standards:

IEEE (Institute of Electric and Electronic Engineers) Computer
Society

ISO (International Standards Organization)

DOD (US Department of Defense)

ANSI (American National Standards Institute)

IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission)

EIA (Electronic Industries Association)
4
Scope of quality management
standards – Certification Standards
* Enable a software development organization to demonstrate consistent ability to assure
acceptable quality of its software products or maintenance services. Certification is granted by
an external body.
* Serve as an agreed-upon basis for customer and supplier evaluation of the supplier’s quality
management system. Accomplished by performance of a quality audit by the customer.
* Support the organization's efforts to improve its quality management system through
compliance with the standard’s requirements.
→ One indication of the importance of standards is the current trend of
software development tenders, which require certification of participants …
5
ISO 9001 and ISO 9000-3
6
ISO 9000
 In 1946, delegates from 25 countries met in London and decided
to create a new international organization, of which the object
would be "to facilitate the international coordination and
unification of industrial standards". The new organization, ISO,
officially began operations on 23 February 1947, in Geneva,
Switzerland.
 ISO 9000 is a series of documented standards prescribing quality
management.
 ISO 9000 has a broad scope: hardware, software, processed
materials and services.
 The standard outlines the basic elements of a good quality
management system. These elements are good business practice.
7
ISO 9000

ISO 9000 is a written set of standard which describe and define
the basic elements/clauses of the quality system needed to
ensure that an organization’s products/or services meet or
exceed customer needs and expectations

ISO 9000 is based on documentation and is based on the
following:
- Document what you do;
- Do what your document;
- Prove it and improve it
 ISO 9000 emphasizes prevention.
8
ISO 9000
 ISO 9000 and ISO 9004 are guidelines for quality management and are not
Mandatory for certification.
 ISO 9001, ISO 9002, and ISO 9003 are Quality system standards.
 ISO 9001 is the broadest standard and provides a model for design,
development, production, installation and servicing
 ISO 9002 is limited to production, installation and servicing
 ISO 9003 is further limited to inspection and testing
 A company should first use ISO 9000 to design and to implement a quality
system. Once the quality has been installed, the company may use the
quality assurance models of ISO 9001, ISO 9002, or ISO 9003 to
demonstrate the adequacy of the quality system.
9
Why ISO 9000 Certification?
 Better organizational definition
 greater quality awareness
 better documentation of processes
 increased control of operations
 Ongoing analysis of and solution to problems
 Positive cultural change
 Improved customer satisfaction and increased market
opportunities
10
The criteria for getting ISO 9000/9001
certification
 Review the current operation and business structure of your facility.
 Provide an introductory session in ISO 9000/9001 requirements and
instruct in the preparation of job descriptions and work instruction
style documentation.
 Audit the completed job descriptions and work instructions and
prepare the structure for the policies and procedures manual.
 Write the first draft of the policy and procedures manual to meet
ISO 9000/9001 standards incorporating the existing documented
work instructions.
The criteria for getting ISO 9000/9001
certification
 Submit first draft of manuals for review and approval.
Prepare final draft of documentation and audit manuals
for compliance to ISO 9000/9001 requirements.
 Train staff on the policies, procedures and work
instruction manuals and receive feedback as to the
accuracy of the documentation.
 Conduct a simulated third party audit of the implemented
Quality System utilizing qualified auditors.
 Make final adjustments to the Quality System to prepare
for certified third party audit.
Overview of ISO 9000
13
ISO 9000-3
 ISO 9000-3, the guidelines offered by ISO, represent
implementation of the ISO 9000 standards to the special
case of software development and maintenance.
 ISO 9000-3 is a standard for quality software systems.
 It is very short (approximately 30 pages) and very high level
(abstraction).
 It explains what to do and not how to do !!
14
ISO 9000-3: An Excerpt
 ISO 9000-3 4.4 Software development and design
General
Develop and document procedures to control the product design and development
process. These procedures must ensure that all requirements are being met.
Software development
Control your software development project and make sure that it is executed in a
disciplined manner.
 Use one or more life cycle models to help organize your software development
project.
 Develop and document your software development procedures. These procedures
should ensure that:
 Software products meet all requirements.
 Software development follows your:
 Quality plan.
 Development plan.
From http://www.praxiom.com/iso-9000-3.htm
15
The 8 guiding quality management principles:
Principle 1
Principle 2
Principle 3
Principle 4
Principle 5
Principle 6
Principle 7
Principle 8
Customer focus
Leadership
Involvement of people
Process approach
System approach to management
Continual improvement
Factual approach to decision making
Mutually beneficial supplier relationships
16
Principle 1
Customer focus
Organizations depend on their customers and
therefore should understand current and
future customer needs, should meet customer
requirements and strive to exceed customer
expectations.
17
Principle 2
LEADERSHIP
Leaders establish unity of purpose and
direction of the organization (the
organization’s vision). They should create
and maintain the internal environment in
which people can become fully involved in
achieving the organization's objectives.
18
Principle 2
LEADERSHIP
Key benefits
 People will understand and be motivated towards the
organization's goals and objectives.
 Activities are evaluated, aligned and implemented in a
unified way.
 Miscommunication between levels of an organization will be
minimized.
19
Principle 3
Involvement of people
People at all levels are the essence of an
organization and their full involvement
enables their abilities to be used for the
organization's benefit.
20
Principle 4
Process approach
A desired result is achieved more efficiently
when activities and related resources are
managed as a process.
21
How is a Process Managed?
Monitor & Measure the Process
make sure the inputs are right, the transformation
activities consistently work, and the desired results
are achieved, then - improve the process as needed
INPUT
Activity
Efficient
No Waste
Right Resources:
 Qualified People
 Right Facilities/Equipment
 Correct Materials
 Proven Methods
OUTPUT
Effective
Desired Results Achieved
Desired Results:
 Quality Products
 Quality Services
 Customer Satisfaction
 Employee Satisfaction
22
Principle 5
System approach to
management
Identifying, understanding and managing
interrelated processes as a system
contributes to the organization's
effectiveness and efficiency in achieving its
objectives.
23
Principle 6
Continual improvement
Continual improvement of the organization's
overall performance should be a permanent
objective of the organization.
24
The Quality Management System (QMS) must
be used for continuous improvement ...
Improve Process through
PDCA Cycle
Plan
Act
Results
Do
Check
Measure/Monitor Results Against Objectives Improve Process and Change QMS as Needed to
Achieve and Sustain Desired Results
QMS
Improvement Objective
Baseline Performance
25
QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Continual improvement of the
Quality management system
Management
responsibility
Customers
Resource
management
Customers
Measurement,
analysis and
improvement
Satisfaction
Requirements
Input
Product
realization
Output
Product
Information flow
Value-adding activities
26
Principle 7
Factual approach to decision
making
Effective decisions are based on the analysis
of data and information
27
Principle 8
Mutually beneficial supplier
relationships
An organization and its suppliers are
interdependent and a mutually beneficial
relationship enhances the ability of both to
create added value
28
ISO 9000-3: Requirements
 The ISO 9000-3 includes about 20 requirements that
relate to various aspects of software quality
management classified into the following five groups:
 Quality management system
 Management responsibilities
 Resource management
 Product realization
 Measurement, analysis and improvement
29
ISO 9000-3:
Principal areas of quality focus
• management responsibility
• quality system requirements
• contract review requirements
• product design requirements
• document and data control
• purchasing requirements
• customer supplied products
• product identification and
traceability
• process control requirements
• inspection and testing
• control of inspection, measuring,
and test equipment
• inspection and test status
• control of nonconforming
products
• corrective and preventive actions
• handling, storage, and delivery
• control of quality records
• internal quality audit
requirements
• training requirements
• servicing requirements
• statistical techniques
30
ISO 9000-3 Certification
Organization requesting certification
The certifying organization
The
The
decision
decision
Planning
process
Planning
process
leading to leading
certification
to
certification
Development of the
organization’s
SQA
Development of
the
system
organization’s
SQA system
Organization’s quality
manual and SQA
Organization’s
procedures
quality manual and
SQA procedures
Review of the quality manual
and SQA procedures
m e ntatio n
Im ple Im
m ple
e ntatio
n of
of
o rg anizatio
n’s
SQA
o rg anizatio n’s
s ys
tesm
SQA
ys te m
Review of the
quality manual and
SQA procedures
Do the quality
manual and
procedures comply
with ISO 9000-3 ?
Do the quality
manual and
procedures
comply with
ISO 9000-3 ?
No
No
Ye s
Performance audit of SQA
management
system
Ye s
Carry out performance
improvements of SQA
management system
ISO 9000-3
certification
Performance audit
of SQA management
Does the
No
system performance of
the
SQA system comply
with ISO 9000-3?
Yes
31
ISO 9000-3 Certification
Development of the organization’s SQA system:
 Development of a quality model and SQA procedures
 Development of other SQA infrastructure
 Staff training
 Preventive and corrective actions procedures
 Configuration management services
 Documentation and quality record control
 Development of a project progress control system
32
ISO 9000-3 Certification
Implementation of the organization’s SQA system:
 Setting up a staff instruction program
 Leaders and managers are expected to follow up and
support the implementation efforts made by their units.
 Internal quality audits are carried out to verify the success
in implementation.
 The findings will determine of whether the organization
has reached a satisfactory level of implementation.
33
References
 Williaw E. Lewis, “Software Testing And Continuous Quality Improvement”, Third Edition,
CRC Press, 2009.
 K. Naik and P. Tripathy: “Software Testing and Quality Assurance”, Wiley, 2008.
 Ian Sommerville, Software Engineering, 8th edition, 2006.
 Aditya P. Mathur,“Foundations of Software Testing”, Pearson Education, 2009.
 D. Galin, “Software Quality Assurance: From Theory to Implementation”, Pearson Education,
2004
 David Gustafson, “Theory and Problems of Software Engineering”, Schaum’s Outline Series,
McGRAW-HILL, 2002.
 Michael R. Liu, Handbook of Software Reliability Engineering, IEEE Computer Society Press,
McGraw-Hill, 2005.
34
35