M. Ross, G. Staples Park Terrace, Southampton, Hampshire ... · Following preliminary results from this survey, a complementary pilot survey was conducted in Hampshire ... the awareness

Promoting quality awareness

M. Ross, G. Staples

Information Systems Division, Southampton Institute, East

Park Terrace, Southampton, Hampshire, UK

ABSTRACT

Quality should be viewed as the foundation stone on which software systemsare built. The authors describe their practical experience, over a number ofyears, in promoting this concept within the industry and via education. Theresults of academic and industrial surveys are also discussed.

INTRODUCTION

The achievement of quality is viewed today as a fundamental aim ofthose involved directly or indirectly in the computing industry. Not onlythrough market pressures, but with the spectre of future legislation on thehorizon, the search for a way to build quality into systems, and to measure itseffectiveness has become a major issue. It is felt by the authors that a twopronged attacked should be mounted - to achieve quality today and alsotomorrow. The professional societies and associations, government bodies andother interested parties, [1], both in the UK, and abroad, are dedicated to thispursuit of quality now. The second approach to achieving and maintainingquality systems should be via education. Students in universities and otherestablishments of higher education are our professionals of tomorrow. Theneed for quality, its achievement, measurement and benefits can be a centraltheme within computer related courses. These students will be in a positionin a few years to influence the computer industry, for good or bad. Thestudents who are studying part-time for higher qualifications while continuingto be employed in the industry, have an even more immediate impact on theircompanies.

A quantitative survey has been partially completed via interviews andquestionnaires sent to all universities and other higher education establishmentsin the UK, to discover the amount of emphasis that is placed on quality

Transactions on Information and Communications Technologies vol 4, © 1993 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3517

286 Software Quality Management

awareness on degree or equivalent courses. Following preliminary resultsfrom this survey, a complementary pilot survey was conducted in Hampshireacross various companies to identify their views on quality related topics, andtheir relative importance, for inclusion in degree or degree equivalent academiccourses.

The British Computer Society has a strong commitment to quality,which is demonstrated within the questions on its professional societyexamination papers. The activities of specialist groups, such as SoftwareQuality Management, and the BCS branches promote the quality awarenessideal.

INTEGRATING QUALITY INTO COMPUTING COURSES

The need to make all employees of computer related industry qualityconscious, has been viewed at Southampton as of prime importance. Thecontent and design of suitable degree or equivalent courses is felt to be offundamental importance in this aim, [2]. The emphasis of the courses, themanner of integrating quality within the other academic subjects, and themethods of involving the students is felt to be of importance.

The students on our courses, which range from two to four yearsduration, are following programmes leading to degrees, higher nationaldiplomas or professional membership qualifications. The full-time studentshave an age range from approximately nineteen to twenty-five with an additionof about ten percent of mature students over the age of forty. The part-timestudents are approximately five years older than their appropriate full-timecounterparts on average. These part-time students are already working in thecomputer industry. The majority of students, both full-time and part-time aremale. The cost of the courses for part-time students is normally met by theiremployers, while the fees for the full-time students are normally paid directlyby government grants. The close link with local employers has influenced thenature and content of the computer courses.

Quality considerations are included in the first year of our computingcourses, normally within the Systems Analysis and Design module, which isconcerned with classical systems analysis and design. Students are introducedto the need for quality within requirement analysis, the manner of ensuring thatthe different methods of investigation can be cross-related and of ensuring thateach of the techniques is used in the most appropriate way. The problemsresulting from the lack of quality are discussed, as is the influence of UKlegislation, such as the Data Protection Act, which is concerned withcorrectness of data and processes. The need for quality reviews is discussed,particularly to ensure that the system required by the user is actually beingproduced. The parallel between post implementation review and assessment


Software Quality Management 287

of quality for the system is considered. The programming modules areconcerned with program design and the quality and correctness of the code,and the use of Walkthroughs is viewed as part of the process. The theory andpractice of testing is also covered in detail. The concept of quality isdeveloped by the need to achieve user friendly systems, especially in the areaof screen, form and output design, menu and dialogue routing, the need for thesuitable use of white space, and of help and error messages. Peer-reviews andpresentations are introduced in this year. These are recorded by video, thenplayed back and discussed with the students to improve the quality both of thecontent of their presentation and their communication skills.

A strong emphasis on quality is provided in the second year, via anatural integration with other modules. The Structured Systems Analysis andDesign Methodology, SSADM, [3,4], has a requirement for formal andinformal quality assurance reviews. This methodology was developed for theCCTA, part of the UK Treasury Department, and the latest version is currentlybecoming a British Standard, [5]. One of the strengths of this methodology isthe interaction between the three views of the system based on the threetechniques of Data Flow Diagrams, indicating the flow of data; of logical DataStructure Models or entity modelling, indicating the relationship between data;and the Entity Life History, resembling the Jackson structured programmingdiagram, indicating the changes to a particular entity with time, from creationthrough main life to death. These, and other cross checking relationshipswithin SSADM, demonstrate how quality can be built into a system and canbe used to ensure confidence is created both in the requirement analysis andin the final design. Students discuss the need for the review of differentdocuments, as the project continues, and the reason for the composition of thereview panels, [6]. Students participate in peer review presentations of thesyndicate reports of the current system, then of their proposed design for thenew system. Students are provided with case studies that progress through allthe stages, included implementation via a 4GL system, onto a relationaldatabase. Security issues for their systems, [7], are considered as an aspectof quality.

The use of prototyping techniques as a means of achieving a highquality system is used in this implementation. Lecturers role play the users,who hold a minimum of two prototyping sessions with each student, wherebythe users will demand changes to the system, and where necessary, correct anymisunderstanding of the system by the students, [8]. This technique increasesthe awareness of the student for the users needs, and in addition to improvingthe student's communication skills, develops methods of documenting Requestsfor Change, which in its turn provides a practical introduction to configurationmanagement issues.

Students study PRINCE, the project management methodology launched



in 1990 by the CCTA, [9,10]. Prompt, the predecessor of Prince, was initiallychosen by the CCTA, from other project management methodologies.Configuration management, and the role of the configuration librarian, isconsidered as part of the Prince approach to quality as is the librarian'slocation in a Project Support office. Quality is a major consideration in thePrince methodology, with the appointment of a Project Assurance Team, andthe maintenance of a Quality File. The students, using case studies, role playthe participants of a quality review, where the project plans, both technical andresource, produced by the students for the case studies, undergo formalreviews by the students. The participation of users throughout Prince is seento help early identification of problems, creating a sense of ownership by theusers, and ensuring quality of the project.

The emphasis on quality is continued when the students consider thenational and international quality standards and initiatives, such as TickIT,[11]. Many of the part-time students currently are employed by companieswho have achieved, or plan to achieve certification. Many of these companieshave used the SSADM and Prince methodologies, as part of their quest forquality, [12, 13]. Case studies are used to increase the student's awareness ofthe meaning of quality standards, including ISO9001. This is particularlynecessary for full-time, non-mature students with little or no work experience.Students's understanding of the need for quality is enhanced by the use ofVideo films, which are shown in small tutorial groups where discussion can bepromoted. The part-time students are encouraged to add comments based ontheir work experience to the discussion. The use of case studies and actualcase histories is useful in promoting the student's understanding of the role ofquality in the aims of a company. Final year students are expected to produceindividual projects, which, for part-time students, are usually work-related.A number of students choose to develop as their project, part of the qualityplan for their company. These work-based projects must have the prioragreement and support of the employers, and are found to provide theemployer, in many cases, with a full analysis of the company's quality system.

Students are actively encouraged to take a wider view of quality,beyond the confines of their course, by reading technical journals and papers.Arrangements are made to assist students to attend professional meetings onquality and related issues arranged by the British Computer Society Branch inHampshire, and the Southern Regional Group of the BCS Software QualityManagement Specialist Group. The close links with the professional societyincreases the students awareness of the needs and quality requirements oftoday's industry.

ACADEMIC SURVEY

A survey was developed by the authors, following discussions with



other academics, [14], members of the Software Quality ManagementSpecialist group and an Inspector for Computing in Higher Education. Noprevious similar survey could be identified as having been conducted in thisfield. A pilot questionnaire was developed and distributed to all universities,polytechnics and other establishments of higher education in the UK. It wasdirectly targeted to the course directors of suitable courses, such as MSc, BSc,HND courses in Computing, Software Engineering, Information Systems andBusiness Information Technology. The following survey information excludesthe data from Southampton Institute, which has been discussed above. Theresponses to date include thirteen first degree courses, four MSc courses andfour HND courses.

The questionnaire considered each year of a course separately, andrequired in many cases an estimate of time spent on various topics. Thepreliminary analysis of the responses has taken place, but further analysis ofthese results by type of establishment, type of course, mode of study, size ofgroup, and progression of study within a course, is possible. Thequestionnaire was concerned with quality, together with project managementand security. The results discussed are concerned with the responses relatedto quality.

Although the analysis is based on the limited number of responses sofar received, some interesting results are emerging. These confirm the generalimpression that the authors had gained through discussions prior to undertakingthe survey, that the topic of quality was not covered on many courses, or whenintroduced, was not developed to any depth.

20 40 60 80 100

Quality

Standards

TQM

SEI Maturity

Metrics

SSADM

Prince/Prompt

131-70 Q13-30 D1-12 EZero hrs

Figure 1



This is illustrated in Figure 1, which gives an overall view of theamount of time spent on quality related topics on all types of courses.

QUALITY20 40 60 80

MSc -

BSc

HND -

^> 8 E35-8 O1-4 BZero hrs

Figure 2

Figure 2 gives a more detailed breakdown, by the type of course, of thetime spent on 'Quality' - including topics such as Standards, TQM, SEImaturity model and metrics. Only about half of the courses included thosetopics, and those that did typically covered them in less than five hours.Courses omitting these topics were generally Computer Science andengineering oriented Software Engineering courses. Business InformationTechnology and business oriented Computing courses have generally includedthese topics, for up to a maximum of fourteen hours, normally in the final yearof the course.

STANDARDS

MSc

BSc

HND

4 E33-4 D1-2 5 Zero hrs

Figure 3

Figures 3-6 illustrate the breakdown for the various quality topics.Figure 3 indicates the limited coverage of standards such as BS 5750. On the



HND courses, this was the only topic covered. For the MSc/BSc courses,only half of those courses that included quality spent any time on standards,with a maximum time of four hours.

TQM

MSc

BSc

HND

S9-10 H3-8 D1-2 5Zero hrs

Figure 4

The topic of TQM was included on only four courses for an averageperiod of four hours (See Figure 4).

SEl MATURITY MODEL0 20 40 60 80 100

MSc

BSc

HND

2 K2 D1 EZero hrs

Figure 5

The SEI maturity model was introduced (in one hour) on only onecourse (see Figure 5).



METRICS20 40 60 80 100

MSc

BSc

HND

S5-10 E3-4 D1-2 OZero hrs

Figure 6

The topic of metrics (see Figure 6) was included in all but one of theMSc/BSc courses that included quality . Most of the time spent on quality inthe MSc courses was assigned to metrics. The amount of time spent rangedfrom one to ten hours, with only one course allocating more than five hours.

HALSTEAD/McCABE0 20 40 60 80 100

MSc

BSc

HND

SYESHNO

Figure 7

Figure 7 shows that most of the courses that included metrics includethe Halstead/McCabe metrics, and discussion of these must have taken upmuch of the limited time allocated to metrics.



SSADM20 40 60 80 100

MSc

BSc

HND

S51-130 Q5-50 [11-5 SZero hrs

Figure 8

Figure 8 illustrates the time spent on SSADM. As for the generalquality issues, the Computer Science/Software Engineering courses did notteach SSADM. When it has been taught on HND courses, enough time hasbeen allocated to teach the methodology fully. By contrast, the time allocatedon BSc/MSc courses, with one exception, has been sufficient to cover only anoutline of the method, presumably as part of a 'comparative methodologies'

module.

PRINCE/PROMPT

MSc -

BSC ;

HND

]> 10 56-10 D1-5 tSZero hrs

Figure 9

Figure 9 shows the limited coverage given to the Prince/Prompt projectmanagement methodologies. This is normally taught on the courses thatinclude SSADM, although project management issues are included in themajority of courses.



20 40 60 80 100

Figure 10

Figure 10 illustrates the results of the survey relating to the methodsused for teaching quality related topics. In most courses, the quality topicshave been concentrated in the final year of the course, and have formed partof a module. A quarter of the courses have made use of case studies, but nonehave involved the students in role playing exercises. A small proportion (tenpercent) have made use of videos and tools; these have usually identified thetools associated with the METKIT teaching package.

INDUSTRIAL SURVEY

Following the initial analysis of the academic survey, it was decidedthat a similar pilot survey should be developed for industry. This attemptedto identify the strength of feeling by different organisations for the inclusionof selected quality related topics within an academic computing course atdegree or equivalent level.

The preliminary results of the pilot study conducted in Hampshire isshown in the figures below. Fifty questionnaires were received via employeesof local organisations, which ranged from very large multi-national companiesto UK government establishments, and to small firms. All used computers,and many were actively involved in the production of software or hardware.The majority of organisations indicated that quality should be included inacademic courses (see Figure 11), although the inclusion of SSADM andPrince appeared to depend on the nature of the business of the company. Itwas interesting to note that in both the academic and industrial questionnaires,the SEI maturity model received a low emphasis, but the authors feel that itspopularity will increase over the next few years. The topic of metrics, sohighly rated in the academic questionnaire, appeared to be of less importancefor inclusion in academic courses in the view of industry.



40 60 SO 100

Quality

Standards

TQM

SEI Maturity

Metrics

SSADM

Prince/Prompt

ES Essential [

OOOi

! Desirable dj No preference EZ Not. required

Figure 11

The organisations were grouped into related sectors of Finance,Utilities, Defence Software House and Other. The Finance sector includedinsurance, banking and related businesses. The Utilities sector included thosecompanies involved in energy production and distribution, in communications,in health and public services. The Defence sector included defence relatedindustries. The Software House sector included software houses, consultancyfirms and companies concerned with the production of software and hardware.The Other sector included mainly large companies, whose main business is notrelated to the other sectors.

20QUALITY40 60 80 100

Finance

Utilities

Defence

S/W House

Other

' Essential X Desirable d] No preference

Figure 12



Figure 12 shows that all sectors are strongly in favour of quality beinginvolved in academic courses.

STANDARDS20 40 60 100

Finance

Utilities

Defence

S/W House

Other

^ Essential CS Desirable CZ3 No preference

Figure 13

Figures 13 and 14 indicate that Quality Standards and TQM are viewedby the various sectors as desirable topics to be included within the courses,with the software house sector indicating a stronger preference for TQM, andthe Finance sector for Quality standards.

TQM20 60 80 100

Finance

Utilities

Defence

S/W House

Other

Essential esirasle Cj No preference

Figure 14

All sectors were equally uncertain about the inclusion of the SEI model.The interest in Metrics (see Figure 15) is strongest in the financial andsoftware house sectors, but appears to be of little interest for inclusion onacademic courses by the other sectors.



20METRICS40 60 100

Finance

Utilities

Defence

S/W House

Other

558 Essential S Desirable D No preference

Figure 15

The teaching of SSADM (see Figure 16) seemed to be supported bymost sectors, with least interest from the software house sector. The inclusionof Prince/Prompt project management methodology in academic courses wasstrongly supported by the defence sectors (see Figure 17) with least supportagain from the software house sector. Overall this analysis of the pilotindustrial survey indicates all the sectors are in broad agreement on the topicsthat should be included in academic courses.

SSADM

Finance

Utilities

Defence

S/W House

Other

j Essential S3 Desirable

Figure 16

O No prefe:



PRINCE0 20 40 60 80 100

Finance

Utilities

Defence

S/W House

Other

I Essential C%J Desirable I I No preference

Figure 17

INDUSTRIAL AWARENESS

The promotion of the concepts of quality is supported by seminarsarranged by the branches of the British Computer Society, by the BCSSoftware Quality Management Specialist Group, and its Regional Groups. Theauthors are on three of these organising committees. The events in Hampshireare normally free, and are aimed at an audience from commerce and industry,although final year computing students are actively encouraged to attend.These seminars, normally with two speakers, last two or three hours,consisting of a formal presentation by the speakers followed by a moreinformal discussion session. An audience of over one hundred is normal forsuch branch meetings. Recent seminars held in Hampshire included the'Motorola Approach to Quality', concerning practical experience of using theCarnegie-Mellon SEI maturity model, and 'Quality in Europe in the 90's' withDr James Hemsley, Alec Dorling and Cameron Low describing the variousquality initiatives. As some of the Hampshire members live on the ChannelIsles and on the Isle of Wight, many of these events are recorded by video fortheir benefit. The advertising for these events is by direct mailing to over onethousand BCS members in Hampshire, and in many cases via the nationalcomputing press and via the SQM newsletter. This regular publication of theSQM specialist group, with a readership of over five thousand, identifies futureevents, reports items of quality news and contains indepth reports of recentnational meetings. The awareness of quality is being further promoted by thisfirst international conference arranged by the BCS SQM Specialist Group.



CONCLUSIONS

With the central role of the computer system to most companies,together with the predicted expected five-fold increase in computer systems inthe next few years, the need for software quality management is of primeimportance. The authors believe that, in addition to promoting quality relatedevents for those already in the industry, the concept of quality should beintegrated into academic courses. Mature part-time students, on degree orequivalent courses, would have by reason of their experience and positionwithin a company, a direct influence on the practices and procedures withintheir company. Part-time students are encouraged to choose work-basedprojects, which often involve investigation or creation of implementation plansfor quality improvement within their company. It is the belief of that authors,that the younger part-time students and the full-time students will take theconcept of quality into the industry, and be at the least, receptive to the qualityinitiatives of their current or future employers.

It is felt that this two pronged attack to promote the concept of qualityboth on the professionals of today and on those of tomorrow should lead to abetter quality future.

REFERENCES

1 Murray, W. 'IT Awareness Campaign' in IFIP Sec' 91, UK, 1991.

2 Ross, M and Staples G, 'An Integrated Approach to the Teaching ofSoftware Quality Management', in ISTIP'90.

3 NCC, 65/WMMa/zW (Version 3), 1986; (Version 4) 1990.

4 NCC, &S/1DM De vc/qee/5 /AW6W:, 1988

5 BSI, Draft British Standard for Information Technology - SSADM,1991.

6 Ross, M, 'The Role of SSADM in Education', in SEHE'91, (Ed,King G) UK, 1991.

7 Ross, M and Staples, G, Teaching Security Awareness and Its Relationto Quality', in Eurosec'91, France, 1991.

8 Ross, M and Staples, G, 'Experiences with Teaching Prototyping', inISTIP'90, UK, 1990.

9 CCTA, PRINCE Guides (NCC), 1990.



10 DBI, Quartet Guides to PRINCE, 1990.

11 DTI, TickIT - Making a Better Job of Software, 1990.

12 Ross, M and Staples, G, 'Managing Projects to Achieve Quality', inIICC'91, India.

13 Voss A, 'The Real Importance of Software Quality and the Role ofQuality Systems', Software Quality and Reliability - Chapman and Hall,1991.

14 Finkelsstien, A, and Kramer, J, 'An MEng Programme of Study inSoftware Engineering', in SEHE'91. (Ed, King, G), Proceedings ofConference on Software Engineering in Higher Education,Southampton, UK, 1991.


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M. Ross, G. Staples Park Terrace, Southampton, Hampshire ... · Following preliminary results from this survey, a complementary pilot survey was conducted in Hampshire ... the awareness