CA447 Module Specification

Module Aims:

The goal of this module is to provide a broad systematic study of quality assurance aspects of the software development process with an emphasis software quality, software quality management, software testing, and software quality certification and standards. This module will expose students to the principles of software quality assurance and identify the tasks that are essential for successful quality projects and discuss how tasks interact with each other. It will also present current methods, techniques and certification standards involved in software quality assurance from a practical industry implementation perspective. The specific objectives of the module are:

  • Understand and define the scope of the software development process from a quality perspective
  • Understand, design and implement procedures for developing software quality
  • Understand the issues and approaches involved in software quality assurance at the company practice level
  • Understand the main approaches to software testing
  • Understand and be able to implement testing solutions at code level
  • Benchmark organisations against industry standards for software quality

Learning Outcomes:

The student will have a sound understanding of the key issues surrounding the areas of software quality. In particular, they will have a good understanding of the quality management activities of software development projects and be able to actively participate in quality management activities within an organisation context. After successfully completing this course students will:

  • be able to explain and summarise quality-oriented software development processes
  • summarise important historical and current literature addressing software quality assurance evaluate the concepts embodied in the most prevalent software quality assurance techniques and methods, including knowledge of their advantages and disadvantages, and when it may be appropriate to use each approach
  • explain and evaluate the factors that are important in implementation of software quality in software development organization
  • explain the concepts behind software testing and evaluate the most appropriate testing approaches for a given situation
  • explain the principles behind software quality standards and quality certification and its implementation in software development organization
  • summarise and evaluate the basic principles behind software process, process improvement and process standards Indicative

Syllabus:

  • The software development process
    • Software process lifecycles
    • Software process models
    • The V model
  • Understanding software quality
    • What is Software Quality Software Quality
    • Factors Components of a software quality assurance system
    •  Integrating software quality in the project lifecycle
    • Quality metrics and measurement data
  • Software quality management
    • Pre-project software quality
    • Development and quality plans
    • Reviews and inspection
    • Assuring the quality of software maintenance components
  • Software testing
    • Fundamentals of software testing Software testing strategies
    • Software testing techniques
  • Quality standards and certification
    •  Quality certification
    • ISO 12207
    •  ISO 9000
    • ISO 9126
    • And other relevant quality standards

Assessment:

  • Continuous Assessment 25%
  • End of module exam 75%
  • No repeat assessment