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A Perspective on Quality

Vishweshwar Hegde

December 2000

Copyright declaration:Some of the concepts on Adoptive Systems is referencedfrom Adoptive Software Development by James Highsmith III

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What is Quality?

Quality Processes produce quality products

Externalview

Internalview

Quality is Value as Perceived by Customer

! Quality is Pride in Ownership

! Quality is meeting/exceeding customer expectations

Quality is reduced total cost of ownership

(Features: Time-to-Market, Defect-free, Maintainable,Usable, Available, etc.)

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What is Considered Good, Quality Software

Meets all the functional requirements

Available for user (Defect free/reliable + Fault tolerant)

Has all the required ibility characteristics:

- Usability

- Maintainability- Portability

- Scalability

- etc.

For customer satisfaction, this is necessary but not sufficient. Other

aspects like service quality, and branding (perception) are equallyimportant.

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Hardware Quality vs. Software Quality

Time

Quality

SW

HW

Body and Soul analogy:

SW undergoes reincarnation on

different HW (e.g. Y2K).

Impact: Longevity (architecture)

considerations of SW.

Industrial Era Products:

Raw Material: Physical materials

Transformation: happens on machines

Implications: More visible, measurable

Less variable.

Knowledge Era Products:

Experiences from industrial era are inadequate in managing software.Complex Adoptive Systems gives partial direction.

Raw Material: Knowledge

Transformation: happens in human minds

Implications: More intangible,

Difficult to measure

Variability is high

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How to Achieve Software Quality

People

TechnologyProcess

(Domain Expertise, Peoplewareaspects, People-CMM etc.)

(Software-CMM,

ISO 12207,IEEE 1074 etc.)

(Tools, Automation etc.)

At a broader organizational level: Malcolm Baldridge Mode, SixSigma, etc.

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Software Capability Maturity Model

Level 2Repeatable

- Requirements Mgmt- Project Mgmt

- Configuration Mgmt- Subcontract Mgmt- Quality Assurance

Level 3Defined

- Process Definition- Process Focus- Training Program- Product Engineering- Peer Reviews

- IntegratedProcess Mgmt

- Intergroup Coordination

Level 4Managed

- QuantitativeProcess Mgmt

- SoftwareQuality Mgmt

Level 5

Optimizing- Defect Prevention- Technology Change

Mgmt- Process Change

Mgmt

CMM Common Features

- Goals

- Commitment to perform (management enablers)

- Ability to perform- Activities to be performed (for practitioners)

- Measurement & Analysis (points of visibility)

- Verification Riskr

eductio

n

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CMM Levels

QPM/SQM

Treat L4, L5 KPAs as extensions of L2 & L3 KPAs

DP

TCM

PCM

PT PE PR PP

ContinuousProcessImprovement:

DynamicProcess

StaticProcess

RM

L2 L3

L4

L5

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Quantitative Process Management(taken from SEI Tutorial)

QPM => Process Control + Process Improvement: use statistical techniques.=> Stable Process + Capable Process.

Process Control => Keeping the Process parameters within establishedlimits. (Project level)

E.g.: Controlling Quality gates based on size, defects, effort etc.

Process Improvement => Measuring to Improve the Process.(Domain/Organization level)

E.g.: Process Capability Baselines, trends.

ExecuteProcess

MeasureProcess

ControlProcess

ImproveProcess

DefineProcess

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Impact of the Internet on Software Quality

Instantaneously-connected world (speed, global culture)

Shorter life span of products and or solutions

Information a key-stroke away (anytime, anywhere)

Open world (competitors have the same info. as customers)

Unknown user & usage profiles

High speed, high change, high uncertainty

Needs: - Quality with speed in highly-changing, highly-uncertain environment

- Complex Adoptive System (simple rules + rich relations)principles over the organizations standard systems.

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Quality with Speed

People

TechnologyProcess

High Speed

High Change

Highly-Uncertain Environments

Emergence is the order

Use Complex Adoptive Systems approach :Simple Rules + Rich Relations

Speculate -> Collaborate -> Learn cycles

Use Fly-by-Wire philosophy (at the edge of chaos) for high

maneuverability

Peopleware aspects are also very important.

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Peopleware Aspects

High energy,high initiative.

High trust, team work, positive attitude (to press on in the face ofobstacles).

Collaboration, communication.

Complementary skills (harness diversity).

Courage to risk-making mistakes, adventure, celebration.

Ability to detect & recover from deviations/mistakes quickly(tolerance for premature ideas, loud thinking & building ideas onone another)

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Some Future Challenges and Directions

Learnings from Complex Adoptive Systems over and above

industrial era experiences

Process quality -> Product quality -> Knowledge/Data quality

Agriculture era -> Industrial era -> Knowledge era -> Wisdom era

Knowledge management -> Wisdom propagation

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Thank You

Imagination, Action, and Joy.