Software Quality Assurance

Before we learn Quality Assurance, let's understand-

What is Quality?

Quality is extremely hard to define, and it is simply stated: "Fit for use or
purpose." It is all about meeting the needs and expectations of customers
with respect to functionality, design, reliability, durability, & price of the
product.

What is Assurance?

Assurance is nothing but a positive declaration on a product or service,

which gives confidence. It is certainty of a product or a service, which it will
work well. It provides a guarantee that the product will work without any
problems as per the expectations or requirements.

Quality Assurance in Software Testing

Quality Assurance in Software Testing is defined as a procedure to ensure
the quality of software products or services provided to the customers by an
organization. Quality assurance focuses on improving the software
development process and making it efficient and effective as per the quality
standards defined for software products. Quality Assurance is popularly
known as QA Testing.

ISO/IEC 25010

The quality model is the cornerstone of a product quality evaluation system.

The quality model determines which quality characteristics will be taken into
account when evaluating the properties of a software product.

The quality of a system is the degree to which the system satisfies the stated
and implied needs of its various stakeholders, and thus provides value.
Those stakeholders' needs (functionality, performance, security,
maintainability, etc.) are precisely what is represented in the quality model,
which categorizes the product quality into characteristics and sub-
characteristics.

The product quality model defined in ISO/IEC 25010 comprises the eight
quality characteristics shown in the following figure:
ISO/IEC 25010 categorization of software quality requirements Source:
ISO20500.com

What Does ISO/IEC 25010 Include?

The standard categorizes app functionalities and lists all aspects of the app
that must be verified before the app may be released.

1. Functional Suitability
This characteristic represents the degree to which a product or system
provides functions that meet stated and implied needs when used under
specified conditions. This characteristic is composed of the following sub-
characteristics:

 Functional completeness - Degree to which the set of functions covers

all the specified tasks and user objectives.
 Functional correctness - Degree to which a product or system provides
the correct results with the needed degree of precision.
 Functional appropriateness - Degree to which the functions facilitate
the accomplishment of specified tasks and objectives.

2. Performance efficiency
This characteristic represents the performance relative to the amount of
resources used under stated conditions. This characteristic is composed of
the following sub-characteristics:
 Time behaviour - Degree to which the response and processing times
and throughput rates of a product or system, when performing its
functions, meet requirements.
 Resource utilization - Degree to which the amounts and types of
resources used by a product or system, when performing its functions,
meet requirements.
 Capacity - Degree to which the maximum limits of a product or system
parameter meet requirements.

3. Compatibility
Degree to which a product, system or component can exchange information
with other products, systems, or components, and/or perform its required
functions while sharing the same hardware or software environment. This
characteristic is composed of the following sub-characteristics:

 Co-existence - Degree to which a product can perform its required

functions efficiently while sharing a common environment and resources
with other products, without detrimental impact on any other product.
 Interoperability - Degree to which two or more systems, products or
components can exchange information and use the information that has
been exchanged.

4. Usability
Degree to which a product or system can be used by specified users to
achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction in a
specified context of use. This characteristic is composed of the following sub-
characteristics:

 Appropriateness recognizability - Degree to which users can

recognize whether a product or system is appropriate for their needs.
 Learnability - Degree to which a product or system can be used by
specified users to achieve specified goals of learning to use the product
or system with effectiveness, efficiency, freedom from risk and
satisfaction in a specified context of use.
 Operability - Degree to which a product or system has attributes that
make it easy to operate and control.
 User error protection. Degree to which a system protects users against
making errors.
 User interface aesthetics - Degree to which a user interface enables
pleasing and satisfying interaction for the user.
 Accessibility - Degree to which a product or system can be used by
people with the widest range of characteristics and capabilities to
achieve a specified goal in a specified context of use.
5. Reliability
Degree to which a system, product or component performs specified
functions under specified conditions for a specified period. This characteristic
is composed of the following sub-characteristics:

 Maturity - Degree to which a system, product or component meets

needs for reliability under normal operation.
 Availability - Degree to which a system, product or component is
operational and accessible when required for use.
 Fault tolerance - Degree to which a system, product or component
operates as intended despite the presence of hardware or software
faults.
 Recoverability - Degree to which, in the event of an interruption or a
failure, a product or system can recover the data directly affected and re-
establish the desired state of the system.

6. Security
Degree to which a product or system protects information and data so that
persons or other products or systems have the degree of data access
appropriate to their types and levels of authorization. This characteristic is
composed of the following sub-characteristics:

 Confidentiality - Degree to which a product or system ensures that data

are accessible only to those authorized to have access.
 Integrity - Degree to which a system, product or component prevents
unauthorized access to, or modification of, computer programs or data.
 Non-repudiation - Degree to which actions or events can be proven to
have taken place so that the events or actions cannot be repudiated
later.
 Accountability - Degree to which the actions of an entity can be traced
uniquely to the entity.
 Authenticity - Degree to which the identity of a subject or resource can
be proved to be the one claimed.

7. Maintainability
This characteristic represents the degree of effectiveness and efficiency with
which a product or system can be modified to improve it, correct it or adapt
it to changes in environment, and in requirements. This characteristic is
composed of the following sub-characteristics:

 Modularity - Degree to which a system or computer program is

composed of discrete components such that a change to one component
has minimal impact on other components.
 Reusability - Degree to which an asset can be used in more than one
system, or in building other assets.
 Analysability - Degree of effectiveness and efficiency with which it is
possible to assess the impact on a product or system of an intended
change to one or more of its parts, or to diagnose a product for
deficiencies or causes of failures, or to identify parts to be modified.
 Modifiability - Degree to which a product or system can be effectively
and efficiently modified without introducing defects or degrading existing
product quality.
 Testability - Degree of effectiveness and efficiency with which test
criteria can be established for a system, product or component and tests
can be performed to determine whether those criteria have been met.

8. Portability/Transferability
Degree of effectiveness and efficiency with which a system, product or
component can be transferred from one hardware, software or other
operational or usage environment to another. This characteristic is
composed of the following sub-characteristics:

 Adaptability - Degree to which a product or system can effectively and

efficiently be adapted for different or evolving hardware, software or
other operational or usage environments.
 Installability - Degree of effectiveness and efficiency with which a
product or system can be successfully installed and/or uninstalled in a
specified environment.
 Replaceability - Degree to which a product can replace another
specified software product for the same purpose in the same
environment.

How ISO 25010 Standard Helps Us Measure Quality

Software development is a process. And we need to have full control of this

process to arrive at satisfactory results—i.e. a working piece of software that
meets our requirements and quality goals—and do so within a reasonable
timeframe and budget.

Each project is different, so you cannot exactly treat the list as a ready-made
plan of action. First, think about what is important for the client and the user.
And remember to think about it from the very beginning of your work with
the client.

Every organization benefit from “best practices” and predictability. Process

standardization and automation of testing saves us considerable time and
money and helps protect ourselves against common bugs. But predicting
obstacles and errors cannot be added to the product after the product itself
is already built.

ISO 25010 is a great framework to define software metrics important for a

project. It is not a comprehensive, detailed map, but rather a guide you can
use, depending on the circumstances. Every development project has
different priorities and metrics, and this standard allows enough leeway to
work with all of them.