The SQA2 Blog: Advice Center
Introducing New Software QA Processes
The introduction of new software QA processes depends on the size of the organization and the risks involved.
For large organizations with high-risk projects (in terms of lives or property), serious management buy-in is required and a formalized QA process is necessary.
Where the risk is lower, management and organizational buy-in and QA implementation may be a slower, one step-at-a-time process. QA processes should be balanced with productivity so as to keep bureaucracy from getting out of hand.
For small groups or projects, a more ad-hoc process may be appropriate, depending on the type of customers and projects. A lot will depend on team leads or managers, feedback from developers, and the ability to ensure adequate communications among customers, managers, developers, and testers.
The most value for effort will often be in:
(a) requirements management processes with a goal of clear, complete, testable requirement specifications. Specification embodied in requirements or design documentation or in ‘agile’-type environments extensive continuous coordination with end-users
(b) design inspections and code inspections
(c) retrospectives
