Different Views of Software Quality

Abstract

This chapter examines the different definitions of quality and compares the different models and frameworks for software quality evaluation. It will look at both historical and current literature. The chapter will give special attention to recent research on the Software Evaluation Framework, a framework for software evaluation, which gives the rationale for the choice of characteristics used in software quality evaluation, supplies the underpinning explanation for the multiple views of quality, and describes the areas of motivation behind software quality evaluation. The framework has its theoretical foundations on value-chain models, found in the disciplines of cognitive psychology and consumer research, and introduces the use of cognitive structures as a means of describing the many definitions of quality. The author hopes that this chapter will give researchers and practitioners a better understanding of the different views of software quality, why there are differences, and how to represent these differences.