A Survey and Evaluation of Software Quality Assurance.

It is crucial to the success of mission critical computer resources MCCR that software be delivered for operational use with the minimum number of errors possible. For this reason, the discipline of software quality assurance is needed. This thesis focuses on data collection by means of an extensive literature review and personal interviews with civilian and Air Force software development organizations. Then analysis was performed to determine what approaches would improve the quality of software before delivery to the Air Force for operational use. To provide the highest level of software quality, the entire development process must include quality checks at each step from design through acceptance test. An active software quality assurance program that identifies and corrects errors during the development process is necessary. This effort will lead to significant defects being identified and resolved early. If the quality of software is to improve, greater emphasis must be placed on software quality assurance as a separate discipline. Software conformance standards must be provided. Technology is constantly changing and advancing, and provision must be made to update personnel in the state-of-the-art quality assurance practices.