Software quality analyst

Abstract: From the Publisher: Author Biography: Dr. Stephen H. Kan, an ASQC Certified Quality Engineer, is responsible for IBM Rochester's software quality strategy and plans, quality assessment, software measurements, and statistical analysis. He has been the software quality focal point for the software system of the AS/400 computer since its initial release in 1988.

Abstract: Software engineering comprehends several disciplines devoted to prevent and remedy malfunctions and to warrant adequate behaviour. Testing, the subject of this paper, is a widespread validation approach in industry, but it is still largely ad hoc, expensive, and unpredictably effective. Indeed, software testing is a broad term encompassing a variety of activities along the development cycle and beyond, aimed at different goals. Hence, software testing research faces a collection of challenges. A consistent roadmap of the most relevant challenges to be addressed is here proposed. In it, the starting point is constituted by some important past achievements, while the destination consists of four identified goals to which research ultimately tends, but which remain as unreachable as dreams. The routes from the achievements to the dreams are paved by the outstanding research challenges, which are discussed in the paper along with interesting ongoing work.

Abstract: Application software development has been an area of organizational effort that has not been amenable to the normal managerial and cost controls. Instances of actual costs of several times the initial budgeted cost, and a time to initial operational capability sometimes twice as long as planned are more often the case than not.