Systematic Study of Software Quality Models

This article provides a systematic review study of software quality models and their impact on software development and testing. It explores different methodologies and metrics used to evaluate software quality, including the importance of system requirements analysis and change management. The article also discusses the challenges faced in achieving software quality metrics and provides insights for junior system developers.

Software Quality, Change Management and Testing
A systematic study of software quality models by Tomar and Thakare
Name
Institution
Professor
Course
Date

Introduction
A systematic review study of the software quality models article provides the basis of
evaluating the quality of the software. (Tomar & Thakare 2011, pp.61). The primary goal of the
paper is to address software quality metrics and at which stage of software development should
each parameter be measurable. The content of the article would be presented in several sections
such as an overview of the selected journal. Since subjected article is presented as a report,
methodologies used in the collection of data would be addressed. On the same note, issues faced
by system developers and other system users would be highlighted. Unless these challenges are
addressed adequately, the quality of the software will remain to be a perennial issue. Next, it
would analyze change management in software development processes. Change management
would focus on procedures that should be considered in order to have a dynamic project schedule
as well as budget. Change management remains a significant aspect of software development
because it involves project management concepts. It would also address some of the necessary
skills required to have successful project implementation. Most of the projects have been failing
due to a lack of essential skills to manage project changes. Project changes are unavoidable and
if not adequately controlled, results to project creep or total project failure. Finally, the article
would address software testing parameters and necessary testing features to be considered as part
of quality assurance. Once the system has been developed, it should be tested before and after
deployment. Testing is used to ascertain whether all software metrics have been met and their
success rate in project implementation.

The content of the article
The article presents a range of metrics through which both software developers and
regular system users can use to evaluate the quality of any system. Software quality has remained
to be a great challenge in the software industry due to unmet specifications. The authors of the
article pinpoint most of the software characteristics to be considered (Tomar & Thakare 2011,
pp.64-65). From the article, it can be deduced that if the quality of the software depends on the
satisfaction of requirements presented, some features should be captured in the development
processes. To develop a quality product, the software should conform to given specifications, the
degree of the software having all desired characteristics and users perspective on software
requirements being met. To achieve all the software quality metrics, all future aspects of the
users should be translated into measurable characteristics. Important to note is that software
quality is quite dynamic and varies from system users. If a product does not meet required
standards, it may inflict user on some injuries or resulting in financial loss. Software metrics are
features that must be captured by system developers as indicators of quality assurance. The
article focuses on software quality metrics that system developers and designers should address.
Despite efforts made to meet all requirements and specifications, system developers have been
faced with the issue of measuring if all metrics have been addressed (Suman & Rohtak 2014, pp.
5636). Some software metrics are unmeasurable, and this makes it difficult to control an
unmeasurable aspect. The aspect of unmeasurable parameters is brought about by attributes
which are un-tangible.
The authors' review of other literature advocated that software quality is an aspect that
should be monitored from the initial stages of the project implementation. To make the
implementation of quality software successful, the authors focused on the triangle of quality

methodology when evaluating these metrics. This methodology is based on three aspects;
operation of the product, continuous revision of the subjected product and transition of the
product. The model uses a quantitative approach to analyze metrics of software quality through
the use of a predefined set of software attributes (Suman & Rohtak 2014, pp.5634). The next
methodology addressed by the article is FURPS which discusses characteristics such as
functionality, usability, reliability, performance among other software quality attributes. The
FURPS model seems to address the entire software quality aspects which are emphasised during
system requirement analysis.
Additionally, Dromey’s Quality Model is focused on evaluating system design,
determination requirements and software implementation phases. This model factors system
requirements analysis quality attributes, design phase quality model and system implementation
required quality model. Despite the existence of fixed software quality models that do not allow
for flexibility, there are some other customised models which would enable any stakeholder to
manipulate it to fit their project requirements. Some of these models have added some other new
features; system security and extendibility (Ahmad, Beg & Haleem 2013, pp. 172). By
considering today's technology, security is an essential aspect that all system quality models
should address sufficiently. Finally, it is important to note that quality models can be achieved
but through system audit and tests. Tests and audits are specifically meant to evaluate if system
requirements, specifications, functionality and performance have been achieved.
Research methods
Report preparation involves some methods to collect and analyze the collected data. The
subjected article being a report should have addressed several data collection methods. Some of
these methods are interviews, observation and questionnaires. Interviews and survey were used

to pose some questions to respondents to determine which software quality metrics are most
important (Tomar & Thakare 2011, pp.62). The issues raised in both questionnaire and
interviews were used in the design review processes. Researchers did interviews one-on-one
while surveys were sent to different respondents through emails. Additionally, the observation
was a significant method of data collection. It involved visiting software developers and testers
while working on some projects and observe measures put in place to make sure project
requirements are sub substantially met. The observation was one of the best methodologies in
this article since it involved physical evaluation of the entire process. Through the use of
observation, it was possible to differentiate measurable metrics from non-measurable ones.
Finally, experimentation was used in assessing project quality by taking part in project
development (Yan et al. 2017, pp. 68). Experimentation can only be achieved by having software
developers as part of the project team. This helps researchers to identify how system developers,
designers and testers take part in achieving software quality metrics. It is only through
experimentation that software quality testing by either system developers or users can be
achieved. System users are the critical players in testing some software quality aspects such as
user interface design, performance and functionality.
Research findings
Analysis of the article gives an insight into some aspects that junior system developers
should pay attention to. It is notable that system quality cannot be attributed to the specific
system development phase. There is a general understanding that system quality metrics should
be factored at all stages of system development. System quality across all models analyzed
advocates for good system design principles such as security, performance, simplicity,
functionality and usability (Ahmad, Beg & Haleem 2013, pp. 172). Additionally, it is notable

that most of the models did not factor out change management which affects software quality
metrics. Failure to factor out change management in any project makes it vulnerable to
unforeseen project risks. Finally, system quality metrics cannot be achieved without having
detailed system requirements, and this seems to be a critical factor in achieving the quality of the
system.
Challenges in achieving software quality metrics
Article author highlights several issues such as poor system requirements analysis and
specification. In some instances, project owners do not outline precisely system requirements to
be factored by system developers. Failure to have detailed system requirements leaves system
developers open to generalise functionality of the system (Suman & Rohtak 2014, pp. 5637).
This makes the product more general and not specific to the user's need. Similarly, unmeasurable
system metrics have been a significant challenge in achieving all desired quality metrics. Some
software quality metrics are not measurable which in turn make it impossible to control such
attributes.
Conclusion
Software quality has been a significant concern in the system development and users
fraternity. It has been very challenging to ascertain if a specific system meets all requirements.
Through analysis of a systematic review study of the software quality models article, it is
possible to outline quality metrics that should be given highest priority. During the
implementation of any system, project stakeholders should be able to plan for unforeseen risks
that might cripple project execution. Failure to manage project changes leaves them vulnerable to
failure because there are no mitigation plans. Though there are fixed methodologies to measure

software quality metrics, some have been developed to make it possible to customise them to
meet project needs. The subjected article evaluate different models which can be used to achieve
software quality metrics. It is relevant to the semester’s courses because it focuses on best
practices which can be used to develop quality and reliable software. Through the use of the
article, system developers can apply models to achieve all software metrics as outlined in project
requirements.
Bibliography
Ahmad, S.F., Beg, M.R. and Haleem, M., 2013. A comparative study of software quality models.
International Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology Research, 2(1), p.172.
Suman, M.W. and Rohtak, M.D.U., 2014. A comparative study of software quality models.
International Journal of Computer Science and Information Technologies, 5(4), pp.5634-5638.
Tomar, A.B. and Thakare, V.M., 2011. A systematic study of software quality models.
International Journal of Software Engineering & Applications, 2(4), p.61-65.
Yan, M., Xia, X., Zhang, X., Xu, L. and Yang, D., 2017. A Systematic Mapping Study of
Quality Assessment Models for Software Products. In 2017 International Conference on
Software Analysis, Testing and Evolution (SATE) (pp. 63-71).