1. Planning for Software Quality
Assurance
By Mr. Fazal Wahab

2. Importance of SQAP
 SQA plan provides a road map for instituting software quality
assurance.
 The plan serves as a template for SQA activities that are
instituted for each software project.
 define the techniques, procedures, and methodologies that
will be used to assure timely delivery of the software that
meets specified requirements within project resources.

3. Software Quality Assurance Planning
 What is not tracked is not done”
 The Goals of Software Quality Assurance:
 To improve software quality by appropriately monitoring both the
software and the development process that produces it.
 To ensure full compliance with the established standards and
procedures for the software and the software process.
 To ensure that any inadequacies in the process, product and standards
are brought to managements attention so that these inadequacies can
be fixed

4. Software Quality Assurance Plan
 For each development project the SQAP specifies:
 Its goals
 SQA tasks to be performed
 Standards against which development work is to be measured
 Software quality organizational structure
 Software quality procedures

5. IEEE Standard for SQAP
 IEEE Std 730-1989
 Standard for Software Quality Assurance Plans
 IEEE Guide for Software Quality Assurance Planning

6. IEEE 730-1989 Standard for Software Quality
Assurance Plans
1. Purpose
2. Reference Documents
3. Management
4. Documentation
5. Standards, Practices, Conventions and Metrics
6. Reviews and Audits
7. Test
8. Problem Reporting and Corrective Action
9. Tools, Techniques, and Methodologies
10. Code Control
11. Media Control
12. Supplier Control
13. Records Collection
14. Training
15. Risk Management

7. Contents of SQA Plan - Purpose
 Purpose
 Describes the purpose of the project SQAP
 List software covered by SQAP
 State portion of software life cycle covered
 Measurable Objectives
 Answers the following:
 What is the intended use of the software (criticality, interfaces etc…)?
 What is the scope of this SQAP?
 How will this plan contribute to the success of the project?
 Name the SDLC that applies to the project and deviations.

8. Contents of SQA Plan – Purpose (Measurable
Objectives)
 Example Objectives
 Technical review of all project documents
 Ensure maximum inspection rates of 6 pages/hour for
documentation and 200 LOC/hour for code.
 Have a process defect yield of 99.9% before delivery.
 Have a delivered defect density < 1 defect/1000 LOC for first
12 months of operation

9. Contents of SQA Plan – Reference
Documents
 Reference Documents
 complete list of documents referenced elsewhere in the SQAP
 For example:
 Standards and guidelines

10. Contents of SQA Plan – Management
 organization - depict structure of org.
 responsibilities
 tasks
 tasks to be performed
 relationship between tasks and checkpoints
 sequence of tasks
 responsibilities
 of each organizational unit

11. Contents of SQA Plan – Documentation
 identify required documents
 state how documents will be evaluated
 minimum documents required by IEEE 730
 SRS - Software Requirements Specification
 SDD - Software Design Description
 SVVP – S. Verification and Validation Plan
 SVVR - S. Verification and Validation Report
 User documentation - manual, guide
 SCMP – S. Configuration Management Plan

12. Contents of SQA Plan – Standards, Practices,
Conventions and metrics
 Identify S,P,C,and M to be applied
 How compliance is to be monitored and assured
 Minimum
 documentation standards, logic structure standards, coding standards,
testing standards
 List Selected SQA product and process metrics
 Defects Found, Change Activity, Software Structure, Availability,…
 Must be related to measurable objectives in Purpose Section.

13. Contents of SQA Plan – Reviews and
Audits
 purpose
 define what reviews/audits will be done
 how they will be accomplished
 what further actions are required
 Minimum
 Software Requirements Reviews
 Preliminary Design Review
 evaluate technical adequacy of top-level design

14. Min Set of Reviews/Audits
 Critical Design Review
 acceptability of detailed designs
 Software Verification and Validation Plan Review
 adequacy of planned verification and validation
 Functional Audit
 all requirements in SRS have been met
 Physical Audit
 software and documents are consistent and ready
 In-Process Audit
 Managerial Reviews

15. Test and Problem Reporting
 Contents of SQA Plan – Test
 Identify all tests that are not included in SVVP for the software
covered by the SQAP and shall state the methods to be used.
 Contents of SQA Plan – Problem Reporting
 Practices and Procedures for reporting, tracking, and resolving
problems
 Organizational responsibilities

16. Tool, Techniques etc
 Contents of SQA Plan – Tools, Techniques and Methodologies
 identify the special software tools, techniques and
methodologies
 purpose
 describe use

17. Code Control
 The purpose of this section is to define the methods and facilities used to
maintain, store, secure and document controlled versions of the identified
software.
 Code control includes the items listed below:
 Identifying, labeling, and cataloging the software to be controlled
 Identifying the physical location of the software under control
 Identifying the location, maintenance, and use of backup copies
 Distributing copies of the code
 Identifying the documentation that is affected by a change
 Establishing a new version
 Regulating user access to the code.

18. Media Control
 Media control includes the items listed below:
 Regularly scheduled backup of the media.
 Labeled and inventoried media filed in a storage area in
accordance with security requirements and in a controlled
environment that prevents degradation or damage to the
media.
 Adequate protection from unauthorized access.

19. Supplier Control
 The purpose of this section is to state the provisions by which
SQA assures that software provided by suppliers meets
established requirements.

20. Records - collection, maintenance, and
retention
 Identify the SQA documentation to be retained, state the methods
and facilities to be used to assemble, safeguard, and maintain this
documentation, and designate the retention period.
 SQA activities are documented by records and reports that provide
a history of product quality throughout the software life cycle.
Measurement data collected will be reviewed for trends and
process improvement.

21. Training
 Identify the training activities necessary to meet the needs of the
SQA Plan.
 provides a matrix that identifies the required skills to perform
SQA tasks to implement this SQA Plan.
 The training schedule will be compatible with the project
schedule
 In some cases, training will be conducted as On-the-Job (OJT)
training

22. Risk Management
 Specify the methods and procedures employed to identify, assess,
monitor, and control areas of risk arising during the portion of the
software life cycle covered by the SQA Plan
 SQA will review and evaluate the technical risk analysis and
any risk reduction plan
 SQA reporting will confirm that the identified risks are
managed in accordance with the provisions of the project’s
risk management plans.

23. Standards
 Standards provide a basis against which activities can be
measured and evaluated
 Document, established by consensus and approved by a
recognized body, that provides, for common and repeated
use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their
results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree of
order in a given context. (ISO – International Organization for
Standardization)

24. Types of Standards
 Regulatory Standards - imposed by Government legislation
or regulation;
 Speed Limits;
 Electric Voltages for Distribution;
 Some Communications standards.
 Consensus Standards - adopted by a community of interest
to further the interests of the community
 most professional Standards and many manufacturing Standards.

25. Types of Standards
 External Standards - define the ways in which an
organisation relates to its clients and competitors.
 e.g. AS 3563; ISO 9001; ANSI/IEEE 730 etc.
 Internal Standards - define the practices and
procedures in place within an organisation.

26. Focus of Standards
 Standards which define in detail a specific product .
 Standards which define the process through which
products in the field need to pass.
 Standards which define requirements for a particular
resource to be used in the development process.

27. The Language of Standards
 “shall” or “shall not”
 to indicate requirements strictly to be followed in order to conform to the
standard and from which no deviation is permitted.
 “should” or “should not”
 to indicate that among several possibilities one is recommended as particularly
suitable, or that a certain course of action is preferred but not necessarily
required.
 “may” or “need not”
 to indicate a course of action permissible within the limits of the standard.
 “can” or “cannot”
 for statements of possibility and capability, whether material, physical or causal.

28. Sources of Standards
 International Standards
 The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)
 The International ElectroTechnical Commission (IEC).
 Other bodies concerned with international standards exist but
normally have a limited scope of interest (e.g. the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU); Internet Standards Group;
etc.)

29. Sources of Standards
 In Information Technology, the ISO and IEC have set up a
Joint Technical Committee, JTC1.
 JTC1 operates through a series of sub-committees
 Sub-committee 7 (JTC1/SC7) is responsible for Software
Engineering Standards

30. Sources of Standards
 In-house Development
 Standards from whatever source may need to be tailored or
adapted to an individual companies needs.
 Three Major Approaches
 Ad Hoc standardization
 Standards Groups
 Standards Committees

31. The Standards Process – usually
followed
Formulation
Definition
Approval
Implementation
Comment

32. Areas of Standardization in Software
Development examples
 Software Development Life Cycle standards
 Documentation
 Coding standards
 Naming standards
 Operating Procedures and Protocols
 User Development