Handbook of Software Quality Assurance, The (3rd Edition) (Hardcover)

by G. Gordon Schulmeyer (Author), James I. Mcmanus (Author) "What is software quality assurance (SQA)?..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, Pareto Principle, Edwards Deming (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Provides 16 of the world's leading SQA experts sharing their practical experience with the full range of techniques available for managing software quality. DLC: Computer software Quality control.

From the Inside Flap
Preface

The software industry has witnessed a dramatic rise in the impact and effectiveness of software quality assurance recently. From its day of infancy, when a handful of software pioneers explored the first applications of quality assurance, to the development of software, software quality assurance has become integrated into all phases of software development.
This Handbook of Software Quality Assurance capitalizes on the talents and skills of the experts who deal with the implementation of software quality assurance on a daily basis. To have their accumulated knowledge at hand makes this Handbook a valuable resource. Each author, because of his special skills, talents, foresight, and interests, has contributed to the maturing process occurring in the field of software quality today.
What this Handbook brings to the reader then, is a collection of experiences and expectations of some of the best people in the field of software quality assurance. Because of their early involvement in software quality and because of their continued pursuit to discover improved methods for achieving better on the job software quality assurance, each author provides an insightful presentation of his personal involvement in software quality assurance.
The structure of this Handbook is relatively straightforward: twenty-one chapters covering many key areas of software quality assurance.
The first part of the Handbook sets the stage with a presentation of fundamental concepts and some historical discussion. Relevant terms are initially defined. Then the interaction of software quality assurance with several software specialty areas is covered. Next, the knowledge gained by the experts in the quality field is directed at software quality. A brief history and future direction of the standardization of software quality assurance follows. Organizational considerations for a software quality program are presented. The backbone of success in any enterprise-the people performing software quality assurance-is discussed in terms of how to identify, get, and keep those most suited for quality assurance. Chapter 7 discusses the recent American Society for Quality's exam process for Software Quality Engineer certification. "Quality is free"; how this dictum applies to software quality is the subject of "The Cost of Software Quality," discussed in Chapter 8.
The next set of chapters within this Handbook discuss quality techniques and opens with a discussion of inspections, the Pareto Principle, and software configuration management. This section continues with the Software Engineering Institute's Capability Maturity Model (CMM) for Software, which has had an enormous impact on software development, management, and quality since 1988. Chapter 12 covers the fundamentals of the CMM process and the relationship of the CMM to software quality assurance. Next follows a discussion of a very successful organization's implementation of the CMM Level 5 process and what this has meant to software quality. The use of both software quality Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools and the use of software quality metrics are necessary techniques in today's environment, and are covered in this section.
The final set of chapters within this Handbook emphasize applications relevant to software quality assurance. Practical SQA applications for mission-critical software and for commercial software are discussed. The application of statistical testing methods, software reliability, and software safety, areas of recent empahsis within software quality assurance, are also covered.
A brief summary of each chapter, highlighting its main thrust, is provided below for the reader to decide which topics are of immediate interest. If information is required from another chapter for additional insight, adequate cross-reference has been provided within each chapter and in the index.
Chapter 1 defines important terms relevant to this Handbook. More recent terms, such as those related to software quality assurance certification and TQM (Total Quality Management), are covered.
Chapter 2 discusses the relationship of software quality assurance with the various types of software, such as operating systems software, mission-critical software, real-time systems software, interactive software, and business software. The chapter also addresses the relationship of software quality assurance with other key areas, such as software configuration management. The Year 2000 (Y2K) Problem and the role of SQA is also discussed.
Chapter 3 is an overview of the contributions made and the roles played by the dominant figures in the Quality field. The individual contribution of the dominant quality experts-Ishikawa, Juran, Akao, Deming, Crosby, Shingo, and Taguchi-are assessed.
Chapter 4 traces the history of the process of standardization of software quality assurance. The Department of Defense, Federal Aviation Administration, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) standardization activities are all covered. The future directions of standardization are given special emphasis because the thrust is to apply commercial standards, such as, EIA/IEEE 12207 to all government projects. This is a major philosophical shift and moves away from the former document-driven software development paradigm of the previous standards.
Chapter 5 presents a software quality organization. This chapter includes a discussion of what commercial organizations require to conduct software quality assurance and the impact of the CMM on software quality organizations. The role of assessing and measuring product quality during development and the controversy over the independence of SQA versus being part of the development organization are also presented in this chapter.
Chapter 6 discusses the personnel requirements for a good software quality engineer and how a software quality organization should deal with personnel issues such as training, roles for software quality engineers, paraprofessional possibilities, and career paths. The impact of the ASQ software quality engineer certification program is covered.
Chapter 7 lays out the requirements for the new software quality engineer certification program established by the ASQ (American Society for Quality). More specifically, the chapter deals with how you should prepare for the exam and what in the body of software quality knowledge is needed to pass the exam. The chapter also includes a recommended bibliography.
Chapter 8 deals with the assessment of the total cost of software quality and examines what input is required, the value added, and the expected output. Concerns such as major task elements, productivity, and potential misuse are evaluated. Also discussed are the "Price of Nonconformance" and the effect of budgetary constraints on the implementation of SQA.
Chapter 9 deals with the widely acclaimed use and application of inspections and the impact of conducting inspections during the software development cycle. The inspection process is described and numerous results of inspections are provided to give the reader a first hand picture of what to look for when evaluating inspection data. Emphasis is given to documentation inspections, inspection metrics, and the national software quality experiment, which captures inspection results across the country.
Chapter 10 looks at the role of software configuration management (SCM) and what that role implies for software quality and software development. Key issues discussed are staffing for SCM, the Configuration Control Board, auditing the SCM process, and allocating resources to perform SCM.
Chapter 11 applies the well-known Pareto Principle (80/20 rule) to the concerns and issues of software quality assurance. The impact and advantage of performing a Pareto analysis is supported by two classic examples; one dealing with WWMCCS (World Wide Military Command and Control System), the other with the Federal Reserve Bank. How Pareto analysis is applied to defect prevention, its use in analysis of inspection data, and a unique aspect of how to compare Pareto charts are covered in this chapter.
Chapter 12 introduces the concepts behind the very influential Software Engineering Institute's Capability Maturity Model (CMM) for Software. The underlying concepts behind the CMM are discussed as well as the CMM's Key Process Area relationships to software quality assurance.
Chapter 13 examines the methods used by the Boeing Space Transportation Systems software organization in their pursuit of the coveted CMM Level 5-the Optimizing level. An organization operating at Level 5 understands its technology and processes and is constantly improving them. This chapter covers what it takes to be there.
Chapter 14 addresses Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools available for use by the SQA organization. This chapter provides insight into the environment for CASE tools, discusses where and how to find tools, and provides a look ahead in this very dynamic area.
Chapter 15 provides a survey of metrics proposed and currently used to determine the quality of the software development effort. Software quality metrics methodology, omnibus software quality metrics, software quality indicators, and some practical implementations are covered.
Chapter 16 discusses how to successfully perform the job of software quality assurance in a real development environment for mission-critical software programs. Discussions are based on lessons learned and success stories from practical applications in mission-critical software.
Chapter 17 discusses how to successfully perform the job of software quality assurance in a real development environment for commercial programs. Discussions are based on lessons learned and success stories from practical applications in commercial environments. These are contrasted with mission-critical environments.
Chapter 18 discusses the quality assurance of software in the Information environment. This chapter gives the results of the 1998 Quality Assurance Institute Information Processing Quality Assurance Survey. The chapter then explains software quality metrics and their implementation.
Chapter 19 is a treatise on the use of statistics as a means of achieving software quality control. This chapter provides a quantitative method of assessing the effectiveness of testing. The cornerstone of this method is the development of the Symbolic Input Attribute Decomposition (SIAD) tree. A number of practical implementations of the methodology are discussed.
Chapter 20 is updated, based on the events surrounding IEEE Project 982, which was established to enhance measurement of software reliability. It discusses many measures of software and their interrelationship with software quality and software reliability.
Chapter 21 deals with that aspect of software quality concerned with software safety. Covered are the various requirements related to software safety, what it takes to develop a software safety assurance program, and hazard avoidance and mitigation techniques.
Appendix A is a glossary of the acronyms used throughout this Handbook. Also included is an index. The index is a combined author and subject index.

Acknowledgments
The editors thank each and all of the contributors for their time, energy, and foresight in bringing to this Handbook an excellent collection of original papers. This collection provides, in a single source, a wide spectrum of experiences and issues of concern not only to software quality assurance, but also to the future of software development.
The editors also appreciate the patience and help of Bernard Goodwin, editor-in-chief, Stephen Solomon, acquisitions editor, and Nicholas Radhuber, editorial/production supervisor, Prentice Hall, without whose assistance and support this Handbook would not have been accomplished.

G. Gordon Schulmeyer
James I. McManus

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 712 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR; 3 edition (September 8, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130104701
• ISBN-13: 978-0130104700
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #767,905 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #34 in

  Books > Computers & Internet > Programming > Software Design, Testing & Engineering > Quality Control

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 94 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Yet another pedantic, theoretical, inaccessable tome, January 15, 1999

By A Customer

An awkward compilation of essays heavily weighted towards CMM-based process improvement as it has been practiced within the aerospace industry. The book devotes hundreds of pages to esoteric discussions of standards and models without managing to say much of anything about how to actually *do* quality assurance. Heavily biased towards SEI and the CMM, in 700+ pages the book doesn't even mention alternatives such as ISO SPICE. An overpriced paperweight.

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A true classic and the best SQA book for serious SQA pros, April 18, 2001

By	Mike Tarrani "www.tarrani.com" (Deltona, FL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

This book is one of the most comprehensive treatments of SQA on the market. It is a collection of essays that cover every imaginable aspect of SQA with an overall focus to prepare candidates for the American Society of Quality's software quality engineer certification (CSQE). Each author is an acknowledged expert in the field, and each essay is well developed and gets to the essence of the topic.

Although the primary intent of this book is to prepare readers for the CSQE exam, this book contains the building blocks to develop a world-class software engineering process group and/or to move up the capability maturity model (CMM)ladder or achieve a higher level of capability within the context of SPICE (Software Process Improvement Capability dEtermination). In particular CMM and SPICE are 'assessed' levels of capability maturity with no prescribed techniques. This book provides a collection of techniques that will fit nicely into goals for increasing the maturity level of an organization regardless of the framework (CMM or SPICE) that is selected. What I like about this book is that it also addresses in detail how SQA aligns to ISO 9000-3, and the coverage of ISO/IEC 12207 and IEEE-STD-1074 (both of which are important international standards that should be considered as a part of an organization's strategy with respect to CMM or SPICE).

Chapters that provide excellent material supporting CMM and SPICE initiatives are: 1 & 2, SQA-Coming to Terms and How Does SQA Fit In? (a complete picture of the many components and considerations of an effective SQA function); 5, Software Quality Program Organization (great advice on organizing SQA within your company and aligning it to development and project management); 9, Inspections as an Up-Front Quality Technique (how to integrate inspections into a comprehensive, proactive quality posture); 10, Software Configuration Management (essential to any quality initiative regardless of whether the end goal is CMM, SPICE, ISO 9000 or compliance with international standards); 15, SQA Metrics (the foundation of SPICE and higher CMM levels); 19 & 20, Statistical Methods and Software Reliability Management (another set of foundation areas that are essential to SPICE and higher CMM levels).

Other chapters provide material that is specific to preparing for the CSQE examination or implementing any quality program that is focused on software quality assurance. I particularly liked the chapter on personnel requirements, which covered the people and process elements of SQA, and the cost of software quality. The latter gives you ample information for justifying SQA from a business perspective. This material is further augmented by a chapter on effective methods of IS quality assurance, which bridges the applications delivery (development) and service delivery (support and operations) domains.

SQA is not easy to organize and implement. Moreover, it is a highly technical discipline that is more engineering focused than most disciplines in development and operations. As such this book is definitely not for the faint-of-heart. It is intended for CSQE candidates and organizations that have attained some level of maturity and are striving to move higher up the capabilities ladder. If you are looking for a more basic book on SQA I recommend Customer Oriented Software Quality Assurance by Frank P. Ginac. However, if you are an experienced SQA practitioner, heading a software engineering process group, devising a plan for improving capability maturity for CMM or SPICE, or are preparing for the CSQE examination the Handbook of Software Quality Assurance is the best book you can have. It is a classic and earns a solid 5 stars.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Valuable information, difficult read, February 19, 2003

By	J. Grey (Indianapolis, IN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm working toward becoming certified as a software quality engineer (ASQ's CSQE). While researching learning materials, I found that this book is considered to be a solid overview of the CSQE body of knowledge.

Achieving CSQE requires a certain level of experience. You should be similarly experienced before you read this book. To understand it, you need to have solid experience as a software quality practitioner and exposure to effective software quality processes. This book unabashedly favors defect prevention through effective process, process measurement, and continuous process improvement - all widely considered Good Things - with a thick Capability Maturity Model accent.

The book's perspective comes from its authors' experience producing large, complex software for very large corporations, frequently on government or military contracts. They've worked on these kinds of projects for 20 years or more. Because of government requirements and the nature of these projects, they've watched the need for process turn into process implementation, expansion, and continuous improvement. As a result, they write as though the audience contains people facing similar situations, seldom creating a bridge to quality practitioners in less stringent environments. I'm a 13-year veteran of small software companies, most of which had comparatively featherweight software development processes. Even with my exposure to effective software processes and CMM, I found it difficult to relate to the authors' perspective.

Making this book even more challenging to understand is the authors' cumbersome, awkward text. I strongly encourage the authors to consider investing in a rigorous developmental edit to get rid of stilted structure and acres of passive voice, and to help them express their thoughts in a more expository manner. You'll find yourself reading sentences and even whole paragraphs twice as you try to decode the meaning. I read the whole chapter on Pareto analysis twice, but still didn't understand much of it because the text was so hard to penetrate.

Despite these difficulties, I've benefited from this book. It has helped me build my knowledge and has shown me possibilities I'd never considered. I'm sure it will be an important reference book while I take my CSQE exam. And then I'll be glad to put it on my shelf and let it sit there, because I'm never in the mood for a good text-wrestling match.