Managing Software Quality: A Measurement Framework for Assessment and Prediction (Practitioner Series) - Softcover

Nance, Richard E.; Arthur, James D.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1852333936 ISBN 13: 9781852333935

Publisher: Springer, 2002

Synopsis

This is one of the shorter books in the 21 volume Practitioner Book Series, but this is entirely appropriate for a text on the ubiquitous topic of Quality. The book is written in a concise, precise no-nonsense style by two interna­ tional authors. They are supported in their approach by relevant personal practical experience and by peer-review of other researchers obtained whilst disseminating their research in the academic literature. The authors base their book around their Objective/Principles/ Attributes (OPA) Framework, developed in the first place for assessment and prediction of software quality. After OPA was developed as a procedure for evaluating software development methodologies, it was expanded to include software quality measurement with the inclusion of statistical indicators and a systematic basis for deriving them. The OPA is an holistic approach to soft­ ware quality and prediction. The approach has been validated through experience gained on a 4-year on-site project, which has also led to improve­ ments to the framework.

About this title

Review

From the reviews:

"This is one of the few books in this area that addresses the 'quality' aspect based upon the important aspect of documentation. In addition, the book provides a basis for not only the software manager concerned with measurement implementation, but also the researcher in identifying the current state of the art and practice. This will be a key reference guide for anyone that is concerned with developing quality software." (William H Farr, PhD, Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division)

"A thought provoking starter for a metrics professional with time to develop theory into practice. ... good suggestions are made on typical things to measure. The code and test phases are well covered with extensive examples of metrics. The cost of the book is a small price to pay for the ideas it contains for a serious metrics practitioner, and it should provide some ideas for anyone involved in the measurement aspects of ISO 9001:2000." (Brian Peaker, British Computer Society, January, 2003)

Synopsis

What should be every software organization's primary goal? 'Managing software quality' Producing and sustaining the high quality of products and processes in evolutionary systems are at the core of software engineering, and it is only through a comprehensive measurement program that a successful outcome can be assured. Cost and budget limitations, schedule due dates, all represent systems engineering constraints which impinge on the degree to which software development and maintenance professional can achieve maximum quality. Richard Nance and James Arthur's guide to managing software quality goes beyond the usual answers to the 'why' and 'what' questions generally provided in the standards documents. They not only look at the 'how to' in their focus of the measurement of software quality, but also come up with specific suggestions to the pressing needs of practising software engineers, quality assurance engineers and software and project managers. 'This is one of the few books in this area that addresses the 'quality' aspect based upon the important aspect of documentation.

In addition, the book provides a basis for not only the software manager concerned with measurement implementation, but also the researcher in identifying the current state of the art and practice. This will be a key reference guide for anyone that is concerned with developing quality software' - William H Farr, PhD, Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division. About the Authors: Research motivated by problems arising in large, complex software systems is what stimulates Richard Nance. His collaboration with the U.S. Navy on major software-intensive programs spans over 30 years. James Arthur is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Virginia Tech.

Edition details

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1852333936
• ISBN 13: 9781852333935
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 136