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On specifying software quality

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Abstract

Quality is recognized as a pre-eminently important characteristic of software, yet an understanding of how to usefully define it, and how to achieve it remains illusive. A constructive definition of quality is investigated and an approach to the construction of software of quality is suggested. The definition focusses on how well the solution fits the problem, the inherent quality of the design independent of the problem, and the quality of the design process that creates the solution. A constructive specification of software quality then follows based on the use of programming language syntax, design principles and strategies, post-construction program quality analysis systems, and computer-assisted program construction tools. Only by addressing the problem on much broader methodological, technical, and managerial fronts will it be possible to make significant gains in software quality.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, Strathclyde University, Glasgow, UK

    R. G. Dromey & A. D. McGettrick

Authors
  1. R. G. Dromey
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  2. A. D. McGettrick
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Professor of Computing and Information Technology and Director of the Australian Software Quality Research Institute at Griffith University, Brisbane.

Head of Department of the Computer Science Department at Strathclyde University, Glasgow from 1984–90.

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Dromey, R.G., McGettrick, A.D. On specifying software quality. Software Qual J 1, 45–74 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01720169

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