SQA architecture

SQA System - an SQA architecture

SQA system components can be classified into six classes:

• Pre-project quality components
• Project life cycle quality components
• Infrastructure error preventive and improvement components
• Software quality management components
• Standardization, certification and SQA assessment components
• Organizing for SQA – the human components

Pre-project components

The SQA components belonging here are meant to improve the preparatory steps taken prior to initiating work on the project itself:

• Contract review

Software may be developed within the framework of a contract negotiated with a customer or in response to an internal order originating in another department

• Development and quality plans

Once a software development contract has been signed or a commitment made to undertake an internal project for the benefit of another department of the organization, a plan is prepared of the project (“development plan”) and its integrated quality assurance activities (“quality plan”)

Software project life cycle components

The main components are:

• Reviews
• Expert opinions
• Software testing
• Software maintenance
• Assurance of the quality of the subcontractors’ work and the customer supplied parts.

Infrastructure components for error prevention and improvement

SQA components includes:

• Procedures and work instructions
• Templates and checklists
• Staff training, retraining, and certification
• Preventive and corrective actions
• Configuration management
• Documentation control.

Management SQA components

Components include:

• Project progress control (including maintenance contract control)
• Software quality metrics
• Software quality costs.

SQA standards, system certification, and assessment components

External tools offer another avenue for achieving the goals of software quality assurance. Specifically, the main objectives of this class of components are:

1. Utilization of international professional knowledge.
2. Improvement of coordination with other organizations’ quality systems.
3. Objective professional evaluation and measurement of the achievements of the organization’s quality systems.

Organizing for SQA – the human components

The main objectives of the SQA organizational base are as follows:

• To develop and support implementation of SQA components.
• To detect deviations from SQA procedures and methodology.
• To suggest improvements to SQA components.

Although the entire SQA organizational base shares these objectives, each segment of the organizational base concentrates on specific tasks.