In view of the growing impact of the application of computer software on human welfare, the quality of software is a topic at issue. In this paper some elementary questions relating to the subject of quality control in soft ware development are addressed. What do we menas when we speak of softwafe quality? What obstacles should be removed in order to obtain quality control? What are directions for research regarding quality control in software development? A central issue in this paper is the notion that complete objectivity in quality assessment cannot be achieved. It will be argued that the consequences of this should not be ignored if we wnat to make any progress towards the achievement of quality control. The result of our exploration into quality has been that three distinct components of quality can be identified: and objectively assessable component, as subjectively assessable component and a non-assessable component. We have argued that it would be unwise to limit our attention to any single one of these, althouh only the first is suited to be engineered.
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