A Framework for Software Quality Evaluation
PROFES '02 Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Product Focused Software Process Improvement
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The thesis examines the different definitions of quality, and introduces a framework for software evaluation. This framework gives the rationale for the choice of characteristics used in software evaluation, and supplies the underpinning explanation for the multiple views of quality. The framework has its theoretical foundations on value-chain models, found in the disciplines of cognitive psychology and consumer research, and introduces the use of cognitive structures as a means of describing the many definitions of quality. The thesis reports on a qualitative and a quantitative study of stakeholders, understanding of software quality. The qualitative study involved 8 subjects conducted in an Australian Internet/Telecommunications organization, whilst the quantitative study involved 403 subjects from 22 Australian organisations. Both studies involved users and developers who were involved with their organizations' in-house developed software. The study sought to investigate the stakeholders' understanding of software quality, and to examine the level of importance perceived for each characteristic in software quality. The results from both studies found that different classes of stakeholders have different views of software quality and that desired values and consequences sought by the stakeholders influenced their view of quality and their choice of product characteristics used in their quality evaluation. The studies also showed how cognitive structures can be used to describe the views of quality and the rationale behind the selection of characteristics used in software evaluation. The significant contributions of this work are: (1) Validating Gutman's Model in the context of software evaluation. (2) Developing a cognitive evaluation framework to describe the relationships between perceived software quality and the software product's characteristics, the stakeholders desired consequences and the value scheme of the stakeholder. (3) Showing that software product characteristics can be used to explain quality evaluation. (4) Introducing a framework, which provides the first theoretical model that could be used as a predictor of software product quality.