1 Quality CSSE 371 Software Requirements and Specification Mark Ardis, Rose-Hulman Institute October 25, 2004

2 Outline Verification vs. Validation Products vs. Processes Review Methods Checklists

3 Verification vs. Validation Verification is building the system right: conformance to the specifications. How do you ensure this? Validation is building the right system: customer satisfaction with the solution. How do you ensure this?

4 Products vs. Processes Organizations that produce high-quality products invest in high-quality processes. Product quality can be measured through testing. How can we measure process quality?

5 Review Methods Informal ask a peer to read and give comments Formal ask a peer to prepare for review record and report results of review Active interrogate reviewer

6 Checklists Look for anticipated defects Some defects apply to almost all artifacts Does the artifact exist? Some defects are artifact-specific Have you identified all stakeholders?

7 Problem Statement Checklist 1. Has a problem statement been drafted? 2. Is it written in an easy-to-understand way? 3. Does the team understand it? 4. Has it been circulated for agreement to the key stakeholders, including management? 5. Do the team members have agreement that this is the problem they are trying to solve?

8 Supplementary Specification Checklist (1/2) 1. Have you established an appropriate template? 2. Are all non-functional requirements included in the supplementary specification? 3. Have requirements for usability, reliability, performance and supportability been captured?

9 Supplementary Specification Checklist (2/2) 4. Have design constraints been identified? 5. Have supplementary requirements been linked to use cases where appropriate?

10 Checklist Exercise