Quality-Driven, Semantic Information System Integration: The QuaD-Framework

The Focus On Quality

The better is the enemy of the good. Why should somebody be satisfied with something, if he has the need and resources to achieve a better result? The answer is: he should not. And this is entirely about quality. A product’s perceivable quality is a key factor for the long term success of a company (Buzzell & Gale, 1987). Therefore, quality is defined according to the definition of the ISO 9000 standard (ISO/IEC, 2004b):

Definition: Quality is the “degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfils requirements” (ISO/IEC, 2004b).

A quality attribute is such a characteristic. To achieve quality in the field of software engineering, measurement is the fundamental basis: “you cannot improve what you cannot measure.” With software measurement it becomes possible to understand and communicate, to specify and achieve objectives, to identify and resolve problems as well as to decide and improve (Ebert & Dumke, 2007).

Definition: Software measurement is the approach to control and manage the software and to track and improve its performance (Ebert & Dumke, 2007).

Figure 1 comprises general software measurement phases and methods.

Figure 1.

Software Measurement Phases and Methods (Ebert & Dumke, 2007)

Measuring certain attributes is only the first step. The interpretation of the results is important, too. It is necessary because the human mankind is rarely capable to directly comprehend the meaningful information of the real world (see Figure 2).