Do You Know the Way to SQA?
Todd Schultz
Handbook of Software Quality Assurance, 4th ed., G. Gordon Schulmeyer, ed., Artech House, 2008; ISBN-10: 1596942868, ISBN-13: 978-156931862; 456 pp.
Some of us are map lovers. Before visiting an area, I enjoy poring over a good map of the territory, even for places I know pretty well. This lets me identify specific points of interest and also builds a base of data from which I can make ad hoc decisions with confidence—often leading to unplanned, serendipitous outcomes. Online maps and search engines are wonderful supporting tools, but they count on you having specific goals and methods in mind. For getting a sense of the territory, nothing replaces a good map. It provides just enough detail to get around and acts as a launching point for more detailed investigation of interesting landmarks.
In Handbook of Software Quality Assurance, G. Gordon Schulmeyer has prepared a useful map of the software quality assurance (SQA) landscape. SQA might not be the most rewarding aspect of software development, but its language and standards should be familiar “destinations” to us. Schulmeyer’s Handbook collects 17 chapter-long essays devoted to various SQA traits. Chapter authors are practitioners with decades of software engineering experience, so the essays exude strong nuts-and-bolts perspectives derived from their practice.
Quality and continuous improvement require thinking that combines broad perspectives with focused attention. Individual essays in the Handbook are typically sharply focused, but as a gestalt, they prepare the reader for the terrain. An early chapter, for instance, describes the key players in the quality movement and the lessons to be learned from them. It stands as a good reminder of or introduction to the quality movement in broad strokes. The following chapter dives deep into the details of commercial and governmental SQA standards, comparing the ways various requirements affect SQA efforts. The entire Handbook deftly addresses the big picture and provides specific how-to examples.
Practical, down-to-earth advice runs through the Handbook. It addresses implementing SQA for small projects, establishing training plans, addressing certification issues, and developing metrics. Given the breadth, many topics are treated briefly but usually with an intensity that makes up for the brevity. Many ideas are presented so well that they make SQA seem obvious and routine. To combat being overwhelmed by these displays of competence, readers should keep in mind that the assurance approaches described took decades to develop and refine. It might take us years to fully utilize what we learn from the Handbook.
Like a map, the Handbook is designed as a reference and a resource, and it strongly delivers in that regard. It’s full of check lists, references, step-by-step guides, and specific examples. It includes an acronym glossary and extensive bibliography.
A map, however, is not the territory. The Handbook contains excellent tools for readers building an understanding or developing their own SQA systems and approaches, but the reader needs some maturity in managing software development for these tools to be useful. The Handbook is not as useful as an introduction to SQA’s role in software development, nor will it replace actually visiting the territory. Familiarity with the contents, however, is definitely recommended for those with responsibility for software development outcomes.
Todd Schultz is a professor and the associate dean of the James M. Hull College of Business at Augusta State University. Contact him at tschultz@aug.edu.
