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.
