The Quality Management Practice on the Development of the Application Software of the Information System
Abstract—Based upon the summary of software quality management, this paper concretely sets forth the quality management model of “Three-layer and Four-field” and the measures of the application software of the information system, and clearly puts forward the work emphases, such as promoting software engineering practice, specifying software classification management, strengthening software design quality, promoting the capability of software test, enhancing epiboly project management and emphasizing talent cultivation. Thenceforth a primary prospect is presented.
Keywords- quality management, software engineering, application software
=== I. INTRODUCTION ===
By reason of the complexity of software architecture and difficulty of system integration,
we should carry through strict and active quality management during the development of application software of the information system. Quality management is to ascertain quality guideline, objective and responsibility, and to perform the whole functions via quality scheme, control, assurance and improvement. Software quality management runs through the whole life cycle of requirement analysis, design, code, testing and delivery and maintenance. Software quality management is processed by following the thinking of systems engineering and adopting the definable and measurable methods. In the light of quality management principle and software engineering demand, we strive to implement the software quality management to insure the whole quality and operation effectiveness of the information system [1, 2, 3].
=== II. RESUME ===
The concise description is given of the quality management practice on the development of the application software as below.
A. Quality Management Objective
During the development of the information system, the project of quality management
and the regulation of software engineering are compiled, and the objective of the quality management is that all the tasks of technical review, testing and joint-test stated in the development contract and management system should be completed, the disqualification items be correctly dealt with, and the problems be entirely solved.
B. Quality Management Process
During the development of the system, the whole process quality management is carried through.
- At the elementary phase, the requirement analysis and the software design are accomplished and passed the review, the problems found in the unit test, component test, validation test and system joint test are entirely solved; and then the outline of joint test is reviewed, and the problems found in the joint test are solved, thenceforth the elementary system is completed with the review carried out.
- At the formal phase, the process control way is like that at the elementary phase.
- At the finalization phase, the finalization testing and the users’ try-out are conducted, and the related problems are solved, moreover, the finalization system satisfies the demands of software development.
C. Quality Management Production
With the system developed, a great lot of software documents are compiled, such as software development plan, requirements specification, design description and so on, that are fully consistent with the technical configuration of the corresponding production, and the annotation ratio of the finalization system is 21.32%.
=== III. QUALITY MANAGEMENT MODEL ===
Aiming at the fact that there is great difficulty in the quality management of the system development, we do much research and set forward the quality management model of “Three-layer and Four-field” as shown in Fig.1.
In detail, during the life circle of the system software, the quality control is conducted by various ways and means to set up the relation among the layers with respect to the eight software key processes; and the connotation richness and evolution of fields, such as software life-circle field, key process field, quality control mode field and users’ quality field, ensure the openness and development of the model. And the construction and application of the model effectively improve the quality management of system software.
**Figure 1. The Quality Management Model of “Three-layer and Four-field”**
A. Software Life Cycle Field
Software life cycle generally consists of the elementary phase, the formal phase and the finalization phase, and can be enriched by the development practices.
B. Software Key Process Field
Software key processes can be added according to the development of software engineering practices.
- Requirements management. The connotation of the software requirements of information system is very abundant, and arrangement is complex, so that we should fully and exactly understand and describe users’ demands, properly define the quality factors, and finally come to the software requirements.
- Project scheme. In allusion to the specific needs of task documentation, we need ascertain the software development plan, and gradually refine the arrangement of phase works in the development process.
- Project tracking and supervision. We must track and check the complexion of assignment progress so as to control the practice schedule.
- Subcontract management. We must conduct strict quality control with respect to the subcontract project which should comply with the same management regulation and control demand as others.
- Quality assurance. We need make sure the rules and standards that software projects should comply with, compile software quality assurance plan, examine and look through software processes and products, and practically evaluate the quality of software product.
- SoftwareConfiguration management. The software configuration management plan needs to be constructed to make clear the activities of software configuration management, and strictly control the alteration and access of various baselines and configurations. And the state of software configurations is inspected and audited before software tests and delivery.
- Peer reviews. We must systematically organize software technical reviews by the field experts and related persons, and enhance the effectiveness of review work.
- Intergroup coordination. We must make use of various occasions to ensure the work coordination among all the groups.
C. Quality Management Mode Field
Quality management modes contain scheme and guidance, check and audit, analysis and deduction, improvement and promotion that can be perfected along with the progress in technology and tools.
D. Users’ Quality Field
Users’ needs mean the start, and users’ affirmance denotes the completion of software development and quality management, therefore we must closely keep in touch with users.
=== IV. MAIN MEASURES OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT ===
A. Quality Management Scheme
By compiling and conducting the project of quality management and the plan of development work, the related requirement, design and test works are systemically arranged, and the main nodes and the corresponding objectives are specified. Moreover, the accomplishment of these works is monitored and inspected. The templates of technical files and track records are prescribed, and this is helpful to the fulfillment of tasks and the quality of files.
B. Software Technical Review
The software technical reviews are emphasized. The reviews are carried through of the elementary system, the formal system and the finalization system, requirement analysis, general and particular design, validation testing. Review teams go through the phase work and products, and form the review notion. The index and trend of software quality is analysed, the process and outcome are noted, and the problems and proposals of reviews are dealt with and certificated before the next phase.
C. Software Test Management
In the process of software development, we carry out the unit test, the component test,
the validation test and the system joint test, established the test plan and test description,
and note down test results and conclusions. With respect to the tests, the closed loop policy of test implement - fault analysis - program modification - validity validation is strictly brought into effect.
Moreover, the problems of tests are fully solved, and the software tests are examined respectively.
D. Software Configuration Management
The plan of software configuration management is founded and implemented.
The function baseline, assignment baseline and product baseline are set up in the process of software development, and marker method is fixed on of the programs, documents and versions. The development library, controlled library and product library are founded at project level and collectivity level, and the regulation of chick-in and check-out is established. The variations that surpass the baselines are actualized according to the variation control regulation, and the configuration state is renewed in time. And software configuration is audited before software tests and delivery.
Thus the integrality and consistency of software is ensured.
E. Users' Participation
In the technical reviews of requirements, design and milestone, system joint test, and finalization test, we are able to communicate with the users in time, take technical measures to guarantee the proper adoption of users’ opinions and the sufficient exertion of users’ functions with regard to the requirement management, quality management, test outline content, so that the related problems are fully solved and the tasks are successfully completed. Thus the pertinency and validity is increased of the quality management works.