December 1999
Volume 2 • Number 1

Contents

A special symposium, drawn from the on-line exchanges of a dozen of our editorial board members, debates how to best express the quality principles that this journal champions. The contributors might not agree on issues such as explicit vs. implied requirements or the relative importance of defect detection and prevention, but the exchanges are meant to stimulate the reader’s own thinking. The goal is not so much to draw up a specific list of “principles” to be enshrined, as it is to examine some of the underlying assumptions about the work of quality professionals in the software arena.

In “Experiences Implementing a Software Project Measurement Methodology,” Beth Layman and Sharon Rohde draw on three years of implementing a process of using quantitative data to manage software projects. This process provides project managers with insight to support decision making and influence project outcomes through selection and tracking of success factors. Measurements are successively scrutinized through estimation, feasibility analysis, and performance analysis. Practical guidance is offered on how to start such a process.

Dick Holland presents “Document Inspection as an Agent of Change” based on experiences within his own organization. He highlights defect detection by means of a formal document inspection methodology tied to defect prevention by continuous process improvement. Bottom-line results include better documentation, increased reliability, and a broader sense of process ownership. The author presents both anecdotal and quantitative evidence for these improvements and sees them as but the first steps along a continuing journey.

“A Worldwide Survey on Best Practices Toward Software Engineering Process Excellence,” by Yingxu Wang, Graham King, Alec Dorling, Margaret Ross, Geoff Staples, and Ian Court, reports on a series of surveys designed to support modeling of software engineering processes. A superset of activities from models such as ISO 15504, CMM, ISO 9000, and BOOTSTRAP was benchmarked on the basis of perceived importance and effectiveness. An organization can compare the benchmarks with its current practices to pinpoint areas where processes need to be established and then improved.

Mark Fewster and Dorothy Graham offer guidance on “Choosing a Tool to Automate Software Testing.” Although the focus of their presentation is on testing tools, it offers a general process that should be applicable in tool selection for a wide range of quality applications. Tool selection is viewed as a project in its own right, with requirements specification and development of a business case for any purchase. The authors provide helpful insights into a range of constraints that might influence any such decision.

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Software Quality Professional
EDITORIAL/PRODUCTION

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Taz Daughtrey
Illuminis
Charlottesville, Virginia

ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Richard E. Biehl
Data-Oriented Quality Solutions
Orlando, Florida

Paul R. Croll
Computer Sciences Corporation
Fredericksburg, Virginia

Beth Layman
Teraquest
Melbourne Beach, Florida

Stanley H. Levinson
Framatome Technologies
Lynchburg, Virginia

John Pustaver
Creative Data Systems
Sudbury, Massachusetts

PUBLISHER
William Tony

MANUSCRIPT COORDINATOR
Tania Kuropas

COPY EDITORS
Leigh Ann Klaus
Kris McEachern

PRODUCTION ADMINISTRATOR
Cathy Schnackenberg

GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Mary Uttech

DIGITAL PRODUCTION SPECIALIST/HTML CODING
Michael Andes