What is Quality, it's different perspectives and Software quality?

What is Quality?

            According to dictionary meaning quality is a property or characteristic of a thing. In engineering word quality is used in the same manner to show the perfection level of a device. Wiki gives a definition as “non-inferiority or superiority of something”. According to ISO standards quality is "the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bears its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs."

            After so many definitions in general we can say that Quality is a measure of excellence, perfection or a state of being free from defects, deficiencies and significant variations. It is brought about by strict and consistent commitment to certain standards that achieve uniformity of a product in order to satisfy specific customer or user requirements

Let us see Quality from different perspectives.

            Quality is a perceptual, conditional and somewhat subjective attribute and may be understood differently by different people. Consumers may focus on the specification quality of a product/service, or how it compares to competitors in the marketplace. Producers might measure the conformance quality, or degree to which the product/service was produced correctly. Support personnel may measure quality in the degree that a product is reliable, maintainable, or sustainable.

            The user perspective is concerned with the appropriateness of the product for a given context of use. Whereas the transcendental view is ethereal, the user view is more concrete, grounded in the product characteristics that meet user’s needs. The developer / manufacturer perspective represents quality as conformance to requirements. This aspect of quality is stressed by standards, which defines quality as "the degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfils requirements".

What is Software Quality?

            Software quality can be referred to two different definitions; Software functional quality reflects how well it complies with or conforms to a given design, based on functional requirements or specifications. That attribute can also be described as the fitness for purpose of a piece of software or how it compares to competitors in the marketplace as a worthwhile product.

            Software structural quality refers to how it meets non-functional requirements that support the delivery of the functional requirements, such as robustness or maintainability, the degree to which the software was produced correctly.