Page 187 - SOFTWARE TESTING & QUALITY ASSURANCE

Software Testing and Quality Assurance

Software quality assurance includes checklist and other important specifications
related to the software program.

Did you know? Most of the firms have adopted total quality management programs since 1980s to
retain competitiveness in order to achieve customer satisfaction in the era of
globalization.

Several companies are supporting the “process improvement” mantra as though it is the
solution for all their software development and quality problems. However, though a
standard process is necessary, it is not adequate. There is no hard evidence that
conformance to process standards guarantees good products.

12.3 Quality Management in IT

Quality management, which coordinates the various activities to direct and control the organization
with regard to quality, is useful for any industry. Most of the principles and theories of quality
management that are applied to software development and maintenance activities can also be applied
to all other Information Technology (IT) activities.
The principles and theories that are applied emphasize on the following:
1. To identify the important IT processes and their sequence.

2. To plan for defect prevention versus detection by applying IT best practices.
3. To use and implement various standards to achieve appropriate levels of IT governance.
4. To resolve the IT issues equivalent to bugs, defects, and errors.
5. To determine and document the requirements of the customers.
6. To observe and quantify the service performance.
7. To assure the procurement of quality when outsourcing important IT processes.

The term “Information Technology can be defined as any equipment or interconnected system that is
used in automatic attainment, storage, control, and transmission of data. Information technology
consists of computers, ancillary equipment, and software.”
In order to apply the principles of quality management to the “organized activities” executed by an IT
company, it is essential to be familiar with the important IT processes. An IT infrastructure depicts all
the components that are utilized in the delivery of the IT services to the end-users, including the
computing and telecommunication services. These components and their use should be effectively
managed. Therefore, a proper IT infrastructure management should be in place.
The management of IT infrastructure and IT services together is called as IT Service Management
(ITSM). ITSM establishes the principles and practices of designing, delivering, and maintaining IT
services to an agreed-upon level of quality, with respect to the customer requirement. This section
explains the important processes found in a typical IT Company. The processes are quite similar to the
software engineering processes found in a software life cycle.
ITSM Processes
IT Service Management (ITSM) is based on two major categories of IT service -- one is IT service support
and the other is IT service delivery. The ITSM processes assure that within these two categories, the
levels of quality that are agreed-upon are achieved.

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