Constructing Superior Software

Title:

Series:

SOFTWARE QUALITY INSTITUTE SERIES

Physical Description:

xix, 285 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

ISBN:

9781578701476

Abstract:

This work offers a practical guide to the key areas of the software development life-cycle. The essays look at all issues and provide a set of fundamental engineering strategies for achieving successful software solutions.

Subject Term:

Computer software -- Development

Computer software -- Quality control

Added Author:

Pfleeger, Shari Lawrence,

Vredenburg, Karel,

Wasserman, Tony,

Available:*

Library	Item Barcode	Call Number	Material Type	Item Category 1	Status
Searching... PSZ KL	33000000006999	QA76.76 C66 2000	Open Access Book	Gift Book	Searching... Unknown

On Order

Summary

This is the lead book in a series of books from the Software Quality Institute (SQI). This series will bring together some of the key individuals in the Software Engineering community, and through their knowledge and experience, develop a library of books that set the standards for best practices in achieving high-quality software. This title presents a set of fundamental engineering strategies for achieving a successful software solution, with practical advice to ensure that the development project is moving in the right direction. Software designers and development managers can improve the development speed and quality of their software, and improve the processes used in development.

Introduction	p. 1
Part 1 Quality Systems	p. 9
1 The System Is the Key	p. 11
Systems, Systems, Systems!	p. 12
A Simple Message	p. 13
What Is a Software Development System? (SDS)	p. 14
Objectives for a Specific Development Activity	p. 14
Policies	p. 16
People	p. 16
Procedures	p. 17
Tools	p. 18
Information	p. 19
Broader System Issues	p. 20
Objectives for the Entire SDS	p. 21
Environment	p. 21
Resources	p. 22
Management	p. 23
Using the Key	p. 23
Summary	p. 24
References	p. 25
2 Engineer the Reliability	p. 27
Software Reliability Engineering	p. 28
Basic Definitions	p. 28
What SRE Is and Why It Works	p. 29
A Proven, Standard, Widespread Best Practice	p. 30
SRE Process and Fone Follower Example	p. 32
List Associated Systems	p. 33
Define "Just Right" Reliability	p. 33
Develop Operational Profiles	p. 35
Prepare for Test	p. 36
Execute Test	p. 37
Guide Test	p. 37
Collect Field Data	p. 39
Summary	p. 39
To Explore Further	p. 40
Books	p. 40
Conference	p. 40
Courses	p. 40
Internet Resources	p. 40
Journals	p. 41
Professional Organization	p. 41
References	p. 41
3 User-Centered Design and Development	p. 43
What Is User-Centered Design?	p. 43
Usability	p. 45
Cost-Justifying Usability	p. 45
Traditional Versus User-Centered Approach	p. 46
The Five Principles of UCD	p. 51
Principle 1 Understand Users	p. 52
Principle 2 Design the Total User Experience	p. 52
Principle 3 Evaluate Designs	p. 54
Principle 4 Assess Competitiveness	p. 55
Principle 5 Manage for Users	p. 56
The UCD Process	p. 58
How UCD Fits into the Software Development Process	p. 58
Development Process Activities	p. 60
Design	p. 61
Prototyping	p. 61
Evaluation	p. 61
Implementation	p. 61
Development Team	p. 61
Determining System Requirements	p. 64
Functional Requirements	p. 64
User Requirements	p. 65
User Interface Design	p. 67
Prototyping	p. 69
Usability Evaluation	p. 74
Reasons for Conducting User Evaluations	p. 74
Types of User Evaluations	p. 75
Field Evaluation	p. 75
Walkthrough/Inspection	p. 76
Formal Lab Test	p. 77
Summary	p. 78
References	p. 79
Part II Quality Designs	p. 81
4 Software Architecture and Quality	p. 83
What Is Software Architecture and Why Is it Important?	p. 83
Qualities and Their Relationship to Software Architecture	p. 88
Understanding Quality Attributes	p. 93
A Quality-Based Design Process	p. 93
Architectural Drivers, Requirements, and Choices	p. 95
Refining the Functional Structure	p. 96
Refining the Concurrency Structure	p. 96
Use Cases and Quality Scenarios	p. 97
End-to-End Thread and Skeletal Systems	p. 97
Elements of an Architectural Design Process	p. 98
Evaluation	p. 99
Architecture Reconstruction	p. 101
Conclusions	p. 103
References	p. 104
5 Rationalize Your Design	p. 105
Introduction	p. 105
Why Can't We Achieve a Rational Design Process?	p. 106
Why Is a Rationalized Design Useful Nevertheless?	p. 108
How Do We Produce a Rationalized Design?	p. 109
What Documentation Do We Produce?	p. 109
Documenting the Requirements	p. 109
Documenting the Architecture	p. 112
Documenting the Components' Internal Structures	p. 118
Documenting the Rationale	p. 118
Documentation Principles	p. 120
Rationalizing the Design	p. 122
References	p. 123
6 Building Systems from Pieces with Component-Based Software Engineering	p. 125
Background	p. 125
The Context for CBSE	p. 127
Understanding Component Concepts	p. 129
Packaging Perspective	p. 129
Service Perspective	p. 131
Integrity Perspective	p. 132
An Illustrative Example: Microsoft Excel	p. 133
Designing Component-Based Solutions	p. 134
The Basic Steps of Component Modeling	p. 135
The Unified Modeling Language (UML)	p. 138
Component Modeling Using the UML	p. 139
Choosing a Component Infrastructure	p. 143
Component Infrastructure Services	p. 143
Component Infrastructure Implementations	p. 144
Current Practice in CBSE	p. 149
Special Interest Groups	p. 149
Vendor-Led User Groups	p. 150
Specialist Component Service Providers	p. 150
Experience Reports and Advice	p. 151
Summary	p. 152
Acknowledgments	p. 153
References	p. 153
Part III Quality Projects	p. 155
7 Teamwork Considerations for Superior Software Development	p. 157
Introduction	p. 157
Teams in Organizational Context	p. 158
Avoiding the Chaos Trap	p. 161
Combating Chaos with Effective Teamwork	p. 161
The Team and Its Lifecycle	p. 163
The Team Growth Model	p. 165
Formation	p. 166
Alignment	p. 166
Performance	p. 166
Dissolvement and/or Transition	p. 167
Formation	p. 168
The Software Engineer	p. 172
The Chief Software System Engineer/Architect	p. 175
The Software Project Manager	p. 176
The Software Quality Assurance and Testing (SQAT) Specialist	p. 180
The Problem Domain Specialist	p. 182
The External Components Acquirer	p. 183
Customer and Expectations Manager	p. 186
Product Delivery Specialist	p. 187
End-User Educator	p. 188
Tying It All Together	p. 189
Team Alignment	p. 189
The Launch and Alignment Workshop	p. 191
Periodic Teamwork Performance Review (PTPR)	p. 193
Performance	p. 194
Conflict Management	p. 196
Software Team Groupware	p. 199
Transition and/or Closure	p. 202
Evaluating Team Growth Effectiveness	p. 203
Summary	p. 206
References	p. 209
8 Use Realistic, Effective Software Measurement	p. 211
What Problems Can Measurement Address?	p. 211
Using Measurement	p. 212
Abusing Measurement	p. 213
Applying Measurement Sensibly	p. 216
Examining the Measures Themselves	p. 216
Models and Measures	p. 219
Measuring Process	p. 220
Measuring Products	p. 221
Measuring Resources	p. 228
Storing, Analyzing, and Reporting the Measurements	p. 228
Steps to More Effective Measurement	p. 232
Further Reading	p. 233
Books	p. 233
Journals	p. 234
Key Journal Articles	p. 234
Conferences	p. 235
Organizations	p. 235
References	p. 236
9 Select Tools to Fit the Tasks	p. 237
What's the Issue?	p. 237
Why Is It Important?	p. 238
Software Development and Maintenance Tasks	p. 238
Project Planning	p. 238
Requirements Gathering and Problem Analysis	p. 239
Design	p. 240
Implementation: Coding and Debugging	p. 240
Testing and Quality Assurance	p. 241
Ongoing Evolution	p. 242
Coordination	p. 243
Projects, Tasks, and Tools	p. 244
Tools and Environments	p. 244
Horizontal Tools	p. 245
Vertical Tools	p. 246
Tool Integration	p. 250
Data Integration	p. 251
Control Integration	p. 251
Presentation Integration	p. 251
Platform Integration	p. 251
Process Integration	p. 251
Tool Integration Is Hard	p. 253
Tool Integration in Practice	p. 255
Tool Selection	p. 257
What Next?	p. 262
References	p. 264
Addendum	p. 265
Index	p. 267

Available:*

On Order

Summary

Summary

Table of Contents