The Quality Gateway Chapter 11

The Quality Gateway

The Quality Gateway is the activity where each requirement is tested to ensure its suitability. "Suitability" in this context means that the requirement provides a clear, complete, unambiguous description of what to build. To ensure a suitable requirements specification, all requirements must be tested by the Quality Gateway. The requirement is tested and, if accepted, becomes part of the specification.

Using the Quality Gateway The Quality Gateway tests each requirement for correctness and suitability. Accepted requirements are added to the specification. Rejected requirements are returned to their originator.

Quality Gateway Tests Implementing a Quality Gateway tests that all requirements must pass  Completeness - no missing components  Traceability – references to other events, dependent reqs  Consistency - terminology  Relevancy – users, constraints, relevant facts, assumptions  Correctness – meets fit criteria  Ambiguity – all stakeholders can understand  Viability – within constraints  Being solution-bound – is it a requirement

Testing Completeness to help you test the completeness of a requirement Earlier we suggested using the shell to help write the requirement; now we use it to help you test the completeness of a requirement. components are present All of the components are present, and the analyst has marked the requirement as having no known conflicts with other requirements. This requirement should pass the completeness tests.

Testing Traceability Shows the connections between the components of the requirements specification. The connections are necessary for tracing the components through their development. To maintain traceability, you need to know which requirements belong to which product use cases, which business events are implemented with which business and product use cases, and so on.

Testing Traceability

To make sure it is traceable, each of your requirements must have the following characteristics:  A unique identifier  An indicator of the type of requirement or constraint  References to all of the business use cases or product use cases that contain the requirement  References to the stakeholder who is the originator of the requirement  Consistent use of terminology Is the requirement uniquely identifiable and cross-referenced to business use cases, product use cases?

Consistent Terminology contain a definition of the meaning of every essential subject matter term Does the specification contain a definition of the meaning of every essential subject matter term within the specification?  Section 5 of the Volere Requirements Specification Template is called Naming Conventions and Definitions. : We have to make sure that each term is used correctly To test that every requirement uses terms in a manner consistent with their specified meanings. It's not enough to define the terminology: We have to make sure that each term is used correctly. For Example, in a requirements specification, we found the term "viewer" in many parts of the specification. Our audit identified six different meanings for the term, depending on the context of its use. causes problems during design and/or implementation.  This kind of terminology defect causes problems during design and/or implementation.

Relevant to Purpose? Does this requirement contribute to the purpose of the project? Does this requirement contribute to the purpose of the project? For Example, suppose that you are given the following potential requirement. Does it fit within the scope we have defined for IceBreaker?  “The product shall record the overtime worked by the truck drivers.”  Look at the product boundaries, Do any of the flows have anything to do with recording truck drivers' working overtime? Are there flows that indicate the product is dealing with working hours?  In the IceBreaker example, nothing makes the overtime requirement relevant. There is no information flow that have any data content related to working hours.  If you included this requirement, it would not connect to anything else in the product, and so would be redundant functionality.

Testing the Fit Criterion have a fit criterion Does each requirement have a fit criterion that can be used to test whether a solution meets the requirement? a correctly defined fit criterion "Does the requirement have a correctly defined fit criterion?" scale of measurement is appropriate Check whether the scale of measurement is appropriate for the requirement.

Viable within Constraints? for viability within the constraints Each requirement is tested for viability within the constraints. This means you must consider each of the constraints, and ask whether the requirement disagrees with it in any way.

Requirement or Solution? Examine the requirement. Does it contain any element of technology? Is it written in a way that describes a type of procedure? For Example, if you write  The product shall be easy to use. then it is a requirement. By contrast, if you write  The product shall use Java script for the interface. then it is a solution. Note the use of a technology, "Java script," in the requirement.

Requirement or Solution? For example, this is a solution:  The product shall have a clock on the menu bar. Both "clock" and "menu bar" are parts of a solution. We suggest that the real requirement is  The product shall make the user aware of the current time. Also, ask, "Why?" For example, suppose that you have the following requirement in your Quality Gateway:  Users shall use passwords to access the system. Why is this a requirement? "Because we don't want unauthorized people to access confidential information." Now you are discovering the real requirement:  The product shall allow only authorized users to access confidential information.

Implementing the Quality Gateway : the lead requirements analyst and a tester. Who is involved in the Quality Gateway? start your Quality Gateway with two people: the lead requirements analyst and a tester. is meant to be a fast, easy test of requirements. Keep in mind this gateway is meant to be a fast, easy test of requirements. use of automated tools The use of automated tools can help to reduce the amount of human intervention in the Quality Gateway process.

Summary The Quality Gateway applies a number of tests to formalized potential requirements. The gateway tests individual requirements to assess whether they meet the following criteria:  Completeness, Traceability, Consistency, Relevancy, Correctness, Ambiguity, Viability, Being solution-bound prevents incorrect requirements from becoming part of the product By preventing incorrect requirements from becoming part of the specification, the Quality Gateway prevents incorrect requirements from becoming part of the product. Eliminating errors early is the fastest and cheapest way of developing products.

Quiz Q1) List out the Quality Gateway Tests and briefly describe each test. Q2) Correct the following requirements when needed: The product shall have a calendar on the news section. The product shall use flash animation for the interface. The product shall display logos of items for the customer to click on.