Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!deccrl!bloom-beacon!eru!hagbard!sunic!mcsun!ukc!pyrltd!root44!praxis!mct From: mct@praxis.co.uk (Martyn Thomas) Newsgroups: comp.software-eng Subject: Re: Software Quality Message-ID: <1991Apr9.172847.10953@praxis.co.uk> Date: 9 Apr 91 17:28:47 GMT References: Distribution: comp.software-eng Organization: Praxis, Bath, U.K. Lines: 32 I certainly agree with Stig Bang's original points. I recommend that his group looks at some of the successful quality management system standards, for example, ISO 9001 as applied to software. At Praxis, we have five year's experience of working within an (originally BS 5750, now ) ISO 9001 regime. On average, we get three independent audit visits (with two day's warning) each year from the British Standards Institution. They can call up any project file, and any company activity, and inspect to see that our announced quality standards are being followed. Clearly, following standards doesn't guarantee quality (whatever you choose to mean by the word) but it shows that your processes are probably repeatable and under control. That would seem to be a minimum requirement for any engineering process (which I believe sw-eng to be) and a prerequisite for quality improvement. There are military standards, too, such as the NATO AQAP 1 and 13. Sorftware Engineering is, by my definition: 1 Applied Computer Science + 2 Controlled and repeatable processes + 3 Effective quality management. Formal methods and ISO 9001 are two essential building-blocks, in my opinion. BTW, I recommend "Strategies for Software Engineering", M A Ould, Wiley 1990. (He's a colleague at Praxis, but don't hold that against him!). -- Martyn Thomas, Praxis plc, 20 Manvers Street, Bath BA1 1PX UK. Tel: +44-225-444700. Email: mct@praxis.co.uk