Software quality assurance (or SQA for short) is the ongoing process that ensures the software product meets and complies with the organization’s established and standardized quality specifications. SQA is a set of activities that verifies that everyone involved with the project has correctly implemented all procedures and processes.
SQA works parallel to software development, an ongoing activity applied throughout the software development life cycle. Instead of making quality checks after completion, software quality assurance checks for quality issues in each development phase.
SQA’s ultimate goal is to catch a product’s shortcomings and deficiencies before the general public sees it. If mistakes get caught in-house, it means fewer headaches for the development team and a lot less angry customers.
These are the characteristics common to all software quality assurance processes:
- A defined quality management approach
- Holding formal technical reviews
- Implementing a multi-testing strategy
- Using effective software engineering technology
- A measurement and reporting mechanism
Additionally, all software quality assurance programs contain the following ten vital elements:
- Software engineering standards
- Technical reviews and audits
- Software testing for quality control
- Error collection and analysis
- Change management
- Educational programs
- Vendor management
- Security management
- Safety
- Risk management
Although each company has its own procedures and standards, these are the activities common to typical software quality assurance operations:
- Create an SQA Plan. More on this later.
- Set Checkpoints. The team sets up specific checkpoints to evaluate the project’s activities during each stage. Checkpoints ensure regular quality inspection throughout the life cycle.
- Deploy Software Engineering Techniques. Software engineering techniques help software designers achieve high-quality specifications. For example, designers may gather information by using FAST (Functional Analysis System Technique) or interviews. Once the developers gather the needed info, they can create project estimation using techniques such as Functional Point (FP), Source Line of Codes (SLOC), or Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
- Conduct Formal Technical Reviews. FTR’s evaluate the design and quality of the product’s prototype. These reviews involve meeting with the technical staff to talk about the software’s actual quality requirements and the prototype’s design quality.
- Include a Multi-Testing Strategy. In other words, don’t rely on a single testing approach. Instead, test the product from different angles with multiple testing strategies.
- Enforce Process Adherence. Designers must conform to the established processes and employ only defined procedures.
- Control Changes. Designers use a combination of automated tools and manual procedures to control changes. This stage includes evaluating the nature of any changes, validating change requests, and controlling the effects of the changes.
- Measure Change Impact. If the product has a defect, the team fixes it. As a result, something in the product has now changed. The QA team must determine how this new change impacts the overall product and if the change is compatible with the rest of the project.
- Perform Software Quality Assurance Audits. This audit compares the whole Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) process to the established procedure. The audit also reveals non-compliance issues and ensures that the proper parties act on any reported QA issues.
- Maintain Reports and Records. Documentation is key to any quality assurance endeavor. Documentation includes audit results, change requests, test results, and review reports. The team should share this information with the stakeholders.
- Keep Good Relations. Ensure that the QA team and the development team are cooperating and getting along. Often, these teams develop cliquish or superior attitudes, and that sort of behavior must be discouraged.
We mentioned the SQA plan earlier, but it demands its own section because of its breadth of detail. The Software Quality Assurance Plan, known as SQAP, for short, makes up the procedures, techniques, and tools employed to ensure the product or service is in harmony with the requirements outlined in the software requirement specification.
The SQAP identifies the team’s SQA responsibilities, identifies the SQA work products, and lists any areas that require reviewing and auditing.
The SQAP contains the following sections:
- Purpose
- Reference
- Software configuration management
- Problem reporting and corrective action
- Tools, technologies, and methodologies
- Code control
- Records: Collection, maintenance, and retention
- Testing methodology
