SOFTWARE QUALITY Functional Suitability

§ how well a product or system is able to provide functions that

Quality meet the stated and implied needs
§ generally agreed to be ‘ a good thing’
• Functional Completeness: Refers to the set of
THE IMPORTANCE OF SOFTWARE QUALITY functions that covers all of the specified tasks and user
• Increasingly criticality of software objectives.
• The intangibility of software
• Accumulating errors during software Development • Functional Correctness: Refers to how well a product or
system provides the correct results with the needed
DEFINING SOFTWARE QUALITY degree of precision.

For any software system there should be THREE • Functional Appropriateness: Refers to how well
SPECIFICATIONS: functions are able to accomplish specified tasks and
• Functional specification describing what the system is to do objectives.
• Quality specification concerned with how well the function
are to operate Reliability
• Resource specification concerned with how much is to be § how well a system, product, or component performs
spent on the system specified functions under specified conditions

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has • Maturity: Refers to how well a system, product, or
established a series of ISO and ISO/IEC standards for software component is able to meet your needs for reliability.
quality.
• Availability: Refers to whether a system, product, or
ISO 9126 component is operational and accessible.
§ The ISO/IEC 9126 standard for software product quality
should be used in conjunction with ISO/IEC 14598 for • Fault Tolerance: Refers to how well a system, product,
evaluating software products. or component operates despite hardware and/or
§ international standard proposed to make sure ‘quality of all software faults.
software-intensive products’ which includes a system like
safety-critical where in case of failure of software lives will be • Recoverability: Refers to how well a product or system
in jeopardy can recover data in the event of an interruption or failure.
§ International Electrotechnical Commission have developed
ISO/IEC 9126 standards for software engineering → Product Performance E[iciency
Quality to provide an all-inclusive specification and § the performance related to the amount of resources used
evaluation model for the quality of the software product
• Time Behavior: Refers to the response and processing
ISO 9126–1 software quality model identifies 6 MAIN QUALITY times, and throughput rates of a product or system
CHARACTERISTICS while it’s performing its functions.
• Functionality • Usability • Maintainability
• Reliability • EUiciency • Portability • Resource Utilization: Refers to the amounts and types
of resources used by a product or system while
ISO 25010 performing its functions.
§ the latest version of the software quality model standard,
published in 2011
• Capacity: Refers to the maximum limits of a product or
§ replaces ISO 9126, which was first issued in 1991 and revised system parameter
in 2001
§ expands and reorganizes the software quality characteristics Usability
and sub characteristics, and introduces two new
§ how well a product or system can be used to achieve
perspectives: quality in use and quality in context
specified goals eUectively, eUiciently, and satisfactorily

Quality in Use
• Appropriateness Recognizability: Refers to how well
- the degree to which a software product satisfies the
you can recognize whether a product or system is
needs and goals of its users in a specific situation
appropriate for your needs.

Quality in Context
• Learnability: Refers to how easy it is to learn how to use
- the degree to which a software product adapts to
a product or system.
diUerent environments and conditions

• Operability: Refers to whether a product or system has

The main diUerence between ISO 9126 and ISO 25010 lies in how
attributes that make it easy to operate and control.
they categorize and define non-functional software quality
requirements.
• User Error Protection: Refers to how well a system
protects users against making errors.
ISO 25010 added two additional product quality characteristics to
the six specified in ISO 9126 — adding security and compatibility.
• User Interface Aesthetics: Refers to whether a user
interface is pleasing.
ISO 9126 / ISO 25010 PRODUCT QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS
• Functional Suitability • Performance EUiciency
• Security • Maintainability • Accessibility: Refers to how well a product or system
• Reliability • Usability can be used with the widest range of characteristics and
• Compatibility • Portability capabilities.
Security • Replaceability: Refers to how well a product can
§ how well a product or system protects information and data replace another comparable product.
from security vulnerabilities

• Confidentiality: Refers to how well a product or system

is able to ensure that data is only accessible to those
who have authorized access

• Integrity: Refers to how well a system, product, or

component is able to prevent unauthorized access and
modification to computer programs and/or data

• Non-repudiation: Refers to how well actions or events

can be proven to have taken place.

• Accountability: Refers to the actions of an unauthorized

user can be traced back to them.

• Authenticity: Refers to how well the identity of a subject

or resource can be proved

Compatibility
§ how well a product, system, or component can exchange
information as well as perform its required functions while
sharing the same hardware or software environment

• Co-existence: Refers to how well a product can perform

its required functions eUiciently while sharing a common
environment and resources with products, without
negatively impacting any other product

• Interoperability: Refers to how well two or more

systems, products, or components are able to exchange
information and use that information.

Maintainability
§ how well a product or system can be modified to improve,
correct, or adapt to changes in the environment as well as
requirements

• Modularity: Refers to whether the components of a

system or program can be changed with minimal impact
on the other components

• Reusability: Refers to how well an asset can be used in

more than one system.

• Analysability: Refers to the eUectiveness of an impact

assessment on intended changes. In addition, it also
refers to the diagnosis of deficiencies or causes of
failures, or to identify parts to be modified.

• Modifiability: Refers to how well a product or system

can be modified without introducing defects or
degrading existing product quality.

• Testability: Refers to how eUective the test criteria is for

a system, product, or component. In addition, it also
refers to the tests that can be performed to determine
whether the test criteria has been met

Portability
§ how well a system, product, or component can be transferred
from one environment to another

• Adaptability: Refers to how well a product or system can

be adapted for diUerent or evolving hardware, software,
or other usage environments

• Installability: Refers to how successfully a product or

system can be installed and/or uninstalled