1、SQA Group
a group of software professihe onals whose size depends on the size of the development team;must report to QA manager not development manager;their primary resonsibility is not testing.
The SQA group works with the software project during its early stages to establish plans, standards, and procedures that will add value to the software project and satisfy the project constraints and the organization’s policies.
The SQA group reviews project tasks and audits software work products throughout the SDLC lifecycle and provides management with visibility as to whether the software project is adhering to its established objectives and standards.
2、High-Level Tasks Performed for SQA
1). An SQA plan is prepared…
2). The SQA group’s activities are performed in accordance with the SQA plan.
3). The SQA group participates in the preparation and review of the project’s software development plan, standards, and procedures.
4). The SQA group reviews the software engineering activities to verify compliance.
5).The SQA group audits designated application development project’ work products to verify compliance.
6). The SQA group periodically reports the results of its activities to the software engineering group.
7). Deviations identified in the software activities and software wok products are documented and handled according to a documented procedure.
8. The SQA group conducts periodic reviews of its activities and findings with the customer’s SQA personnel, as appropriate
3、Problems Facing the SQA Group
Viewed as spies to management
Viewed as not having enough technical background, know nothing about the mechanics of building software.
Blame developers for poor quality but provide no solution
Insensitive to intelligent and talented developers and system engineers.
4、Software Quality Assurance Plan
The Software Quality Assurance plan provides the framework and guidelines for development of high quality software.
The SQA plan is developed by the SQA group, and serves as a template for SQA activities.
A standard for SQA plans has been recommended by the IEEE.
5、Develop and implement a SQA Plan
Step 1. Document the Plan
1) Purpose section
2) Reference document section
3) Management section
4) Document section
5) Standards practices conventions and metrics section
6) Reviews and inspectionssection
7) SCM section
8) Problem reporting and correction action section
9) Tools, techniques, and methodologies section
10) Code control section
11) Media control section
12) Supplier control section
13) Records collection,maintenance, and retention section
14) Testing methodology
Step 2. Obtain Management Acceptance
Management is responsible bother for ensuring the quality of a software project and for providing the resources needed for software development.
If the scope of a project spans organizational boundaries, approval should be obtained from all affected areas.
In general, implementing a formal SQA plan makes economic and management sense.
Step 3. Obtain Development Acceptance
Since the software developers are the primary users of an SQA plan, their approval and cooperation in implementing the plan are essential.
The software project team members must adhere to the project SQA plan; everyone must accept it and follow it.
No SQA plan is successfully implemented without the involvement of the software team members and their managers in the development of the plan.
Step 4. Plan for Implementation of the SQA plan
The process of planning, formulating, and drafting an SQA plan requires staff and word processing resources. The individual responsible for implementing an SQA plan must have access to these resource.
A schedule for drafting, reviewing, and approving the SQA plan should be developed.
Step 5. Execute the SQA Plan
The actual process of executing an SQA plan by the software development and maintenance team involves determining necessary audit points for monitoring it.
Audit points should occur either periodically during development or at specific project milestones (e.g., at major reviews or when part of the project is delivered).