Achieving Quality in Software

Book excerpt: Software quality is a generalised statement difficult to agree or disagree with until a precise definition of the concept of "Software Quality" is reached in terms of measurable quantities. Unfortunately, for the software technology the basic question of: • what to measure; • how to measure; • when to measure; • how to deal with the data obtained are still unanswered and are also closely dependant on the field of application. In the past twenty years or more there have been a number of conferences and debates focusing on the concept of Software Quality, which produced no real industrial impact. Recently, however, the implementation of a few generic standards (ISO 9000, IEEE etc.) has produced and improved application of good practice principles at the industrial level. As a graduate in PhYSiCS, I still believe it is a long way before the concept of Software Quality can be defined exactly and measured, if ever. This is way I think the AQuIS series of conferences is important, its object begin to provide a platform for the transfer of technology and know how between Academic, Industrial and Research Institutions, in the field of Software Quality. Their objects are: • to provide a forum for the introduction and discussion of new research breakthroughs in Software Quality; • to provide professional Software Quality engineers with the necessary exposure to the results of current research; • to expose the research community to the problems of practical application of new results.