The value of a proper software quality assurance methodology

Abstract

This paper describes the experiences of a project development team during an attempt to ensure the quality of a new software product. This product was created by a team of software engineers at Digital Equipment Corporation, a mainframe manufacturer. As a result, the definition of “to ensure the quality of a software product” meant minimizing the maintenance costs of the new product. Ease of maintenance and a low bug rate after release to the customer were very important goals from the beginning of the project. This paper compares the degree of application and resultant effects of several software quality assurance methodologies upon different parts of the final product. Many of the product's subsystems were created using all of the discussed methodologies rigorously. Some subsystems were created with little or no use of the methodologies. Other subsystems used a mixture. The observed quality of the various subsystems when related to the methodology used to create them provides insights into the interactions between the methodologies. These observations also supply additional experience to reinforce established beliefs concerning the value of quality assurance methodologies.