Software Quality Control
With this great growth of the importance of quality information processing has come the comparable growth of the importance of what might be thought of as the quality control of computer information. This relates, in part, to the assurance of the quality of the computer hardware itself. While vitally important, the quality-control practices that effective here are similar in principle and approach to the practices have been generally developed for other forms of electronic equipment.
The quality of the software that drives the computer –and of the programming which creates the software-has also become of primary quality importance. A very high proportion of computer ”crashes,” that is, failure of operation, today may be caused by the unsatisfactory quality of software.
Software quality control has therefore become an essential part of company total-quality-control programs. Attention to the unique requirements of soft-ware quality is an activity that is integrated throughout the quality information-processing program. It begin in development and continues throughout computer hardware and software operation and maintenance both in office and in factory and testing installations.