A framework for software quality definition, allocation and control.

摘要

Software is fast becoming the most predominant component in most large systems. For this reason, better software engineering practices have been developed and measurement techniques have evolved to monitor their impact on the different software work-products produced during development. Yet very few large software projects are completed on time, within budget and meet all user needs. Quality must be designed into software products in order to eradicate these project failures. Since no widespread standard exists about software quality, problems occur when the developer and customer do not agree on the way the quality of the software is to be implemented and then measured. This thesis proposes a software engineering support framework that permits a software work-product to be defined using Quality Factors, allocated through the use of Quality Criteria and monitored and controlled using Criteria Quantifiers and an overall software quality figure of merit. The framework is derived from the Analytical Hierarchy Process theory which is used to model decision making problems in many other engineering fields. A complete example of the application of this framework is given using an engineering standard for critical software used at Ontario Hydro. The example is applied to a hypothetical Software Requirement Specification document.