Page - 163 - in The Future of Software Quality Assurance

Embracing Qualitywith Design Thinking 163 Requirements Design Implementa1on Test Security Privacy Usability Performance Embracing Development Ac1vi1es Productor Service Quality Convergence Quality Emergence Reliability Fit-for-Use Fit-for-Purpose Fig. 1 Relationship ofembracing quality to development activities tive progressionof qualities as they result from developmentactivities. Admittedly Fig.1 isnotexhaustiveinpresentingall softwareorsystemqualities,anabbreviated collectionwaschosenfor thesakeofvisualclarityandspace.Figure1suggests that development activities primarily focus on reliability, fitness-for-use, and fitness- for-purpose. On some projects, requirements are written and development efforts are allocated to address aspects of the qualities of security, privacy, usability, and performance;however, the cohesiveandcomprehensivesense of these qualitiesare emergent. A product or service is unlikely to succeed without sufficient reliability, fitness-for-use,andfitness-for-purpose.Theseareimmediateandnecessaryqualities to addressby anydevelopment team. The requirementsandefforts to achieve these qualities in turn influencetheachievementofoverallsecurity,privacy,usability,and performance.Thecomplexinterplayamongqualities,suchassecurity,usability,and performance, furthercomplicateachievingthesequalitydimensions. Social dynamics such as peer pressure, status seeking, opinion influencers, and user ratings influence initial and ongoing interest in a product or service. Product managers and development teams must seek to achieve adequate levels of and balance among product or service qualities (e.g., security, privacy, usability, etc.); however,embracingquality isnotcompletely in their control toachieve. The “lean” software and business developmentconceptsof minimal marketable feature (MMF) and minimal viable product (MVP) are by their definition mini- mizationsof time, resources,andinvestment.Teamsworkingtowards theseoptimal outcomesare essentially seeking the tippingpointof what is minimallymarketable and minimally viable and what would be insufficient. This tight margin between sufficiency and insufficiency increases the sensitivity of qualities like fitness-for- purpose to the judgment of those responsible for defining what is minimally marketable and minimally viable for the audience being anticipated. The “voice of thecustomer”isessential for thesejudgmentstobegroundedinactualexpectations. Although a team’s efforts may be deep within the technology stack, each work product influences qualities such as security, privacy, usability, and performance that will in turn influence the user’s experience. It is important for team members to recognizehoweach team’scontributionfits into theoveralldesignandwhat role