CS8113g: Introduction

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SQA 1Formal Technical Reviews
Engineering quality
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Agenda

• Questions
• Software Quality Assurance
• Formal Technical Reviews

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What is Software Quality?

• Adherence to
• explicit requirements
• explicit development standards
• implicit professional standards

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In other words, ...

• Requirements are foundation
• Standards are a guide
• Implicit requirements just as important

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Software Quality Assurance

• Roots in early 1900s
• manufacturing (Bell Labs 1915)
• 50s-60s software
• programmer responsibility
• 70s
• military required organizations
• 80s-90s
• ISO 9000, SEI CMM

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SQA activities

• SQA usually a separate entity
• Formal techincal reviews
• Testing
• Enforce standards/methods/tools
• Configuration management
• Record-keeping/measurement reporting

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Formal Technical Reviews

• Stylized meetings to filter problems in
• requirements
• design/architecture
• code
• Artifact walkthroughs

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Purpose of technical reviews

• V ariation management
• E rror prevention
• S tandards checks
• T rain junior staff

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Review guidelines

• keep attendees low
• internal and external
• assure advance preparation
• 24 hours minimum lead time
• limit review time
• 2 hours

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How to meet guidelines

• Focus review on artifcat
• product, not producer
• Appoint review leader and team
• Insist upon advance preparation

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Uncover vs. Solve

• Review is to uncover problems
• not to fix them
• Set agenda and stick to it
• Limit debate and rebuttal
• Take written notes, aided by checklists
• Assign follow-up responsibility

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Review team

• Facilitator/Organizer
• Note taker
• Artifact producer
• Outsider

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Requirements review

• Did anyone do this?
• Macroscopic vs. Microscopic issues
• review should focus on macro issues
• reviewers should provide micro comments

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Microscopic issues

• spelling/grammar
• persuasive connectors (certainly)
• vague terms (sometimes)
• incomplete lists (etc.)
• demand proof for certainty

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Macroscopic issues

• Completeness
• Clarity
• Correct scope
• Realistic
• Omissions
• Effective diagrams
• Consistent language