What Is Software Quality, and Why Does it Matter?

Abstract

If you have ever debated the relative merits of an operating system, a programming language, or even a text editor, you will immediately appreciate the difficulties that arise when trying to assess and communicate about software quality. Software has many `qualities', some of which are easy to assess (e.g. cost or ease by which it is installed), whereas others lie within the eye of the beholder (e.g. the aesthetics of a user interface). Different users can also priorities these qualities in different ways, can have very different expectations, and can easily come up with contradictory assessments.