Software Quality and Testing: What DoD Can Learn from Commercial Practices

摘要

With regard to software testing in DoD, we can summarize our conclusions in twofundamental ideas. First, DoD knows how to produce quality software at low cost. This is because organizations such as DoD STEP, Army STEP, and Software Engineering Institute have already researched and documented policies for DoD. A few commercial software developers practice many of the DoD policies and directives now, and produce quality software (for example, IBM FSC Houston). Second, quality cannot be tested into software. Only a well-defined, well-disciplined process with a continuous improvement cycle can ensure software quality. However, testing cannot be underestimated. Systematic testing activities that detect error earliest in the life cycle are necessary to drive process improvement and optimize the development of quality software. Such testing methods as formal inspection find defects early. This enables cost-effective error resolution, identification and removal of defect causes, and thus, prevention of future defect insertion. If practiced with discipline, such methods can evolve a self-correcting software development process that is stable, modeled, measured, and therefore, predictable. This development process engineers quality software faster at reduced cost.... Software testing, Software quality, Formal inspection, Quality control.