Quality Management of IT

1
Quality Management of IT

• CIFM03
• Introduction

2
Coming to Terms with Quality

• Quality and Information Systems Strategies
• CIFM03

3
Quality - Basics

• Definitions
• Background (cost, development)
• Process vs. Product
• Quality Assurance tasks
• Reviews
• Launching QA programmes
• Quality Assessment

4
Definitions

• software - (code, documentation, data)
• quality,
• quality assurance.

5
Quality Defined

• The degree to which a set of inherent
  characteristics fulfils requirements.
• - ISO 90002000

6
Quality Assurance (I)

• Juran defined quality assurance, in his Quality
  Control Handbook, as
• the activity of providing to all concerned the
  evidence needed to establish confidence that the
  quality function is being performed adequately

7
Quality Assurance (II)

• coordinated activities providing confidence that
  quality requirements will be fulfilled
• - ISO 90002000

8
Software Quality

• policy
• management system
• plan
• procedures
• standards

9
Cost of Quality

• prevention costs
• appraisal costs
• internal failure costs
• external failure costs

10
Development of Quality

• Deming, Juran, Ishikawa etc.
• TQM
• kaizen
• atarimae hinshitsu
• kansei
• miryokuteki hinshitsu

11
Product vs. Process

• good process good product?
• process improvement (CMM)

12
QA activities - part 1

• prepare a SQA plan
• participate in the definition of a projects
  (software) development plan (and process model)
• review (software engineering) activities to
  verify compliance with defined (software) process

13
QA activities - part 2

• review selected (software) work products to
  verify compliance with specifications
• ensure deviations from defined activities and
  products are documented and handled according to
  defined procedures
• record any non-compliances
• regularly report to senior management

14
REVIEWS

• STAGE
• REQTS ANALYSIS
• SOFTWARE DESIGN
• CODING
• TESTING

• TYPE OF REVIEW
• SPEC. WALKTHROUGHS
• DESIGN WALKTHROUGHS
• CODE WALKTHROUGHS
• TEST PLAN REVIEW

15
THE REVIEW TEAM

• REVIEW LEADER
• RECORDER
• PRODUCER
• REVIEWER(S)

16
REVIEWER PREPARATION

• Be sure you understand the CONTEXT
• Skim all the product material to understand the
  location and format of the information
• Read the product material and annotate
• Pose comments as questions
• Avoid issues of style
• Inform the review leader if you cant prepare

17
CONDUCTING THE REVIEW

• Evaluate the product before the review
• Review the product, not the producer
• Keep the tone mild, ask questions instead of
  making accusations
• Stick to the review agenda
• Raise issues - dont resolve them
• Avoid discussion of style - stick to technical
  correctness
• Schedule reviews as project tasks
• Record and report all review results

18
Humphrey says

• The people responsible for the software projects
  are the only ones who can be responsible for
  quality..
• The role of SQA is to monitor the way these
  groups perform their responsibilities.

19
Launching a SQA Programme

• initiate the programme
• identify the issues
• write the plan
• establish standards
• establish the function
• train and promote
• implement the plan
• evaluate the programme

20
Pitfalls

• it is a mistake to think that SQA people (alone)
  can do anything about quality
• the existence of a SQA function does not ensure
  that the standard procedures are followed
• unless management periodically demonstrates its
  support for SQA, by following their
  recommendations, SQA will be ineffective
• unless line management requires that SQA tries to
  resolve their issues with project management
  before escalation, SQA and development will not
  work together effectively.

21
Quality Assessment

• Three types of audit of a quality management
  system
• First self assessment.
• Second assessment by the customer.
• Third by an external, independent organisation,
  generally to a national or international standard.