Development of a Maturity Model for Software Quality Assurance Practices

Abstract

The advancements in the technology landscape and software development in recent years mandate paying attention to Software Quality Assurance (SQA) because it is becoming significantly important and complex. SQA is a set of activities within the software development lifecycle that aims at reducing development and testing costs, improving the quality of the software systems, and increasing customer satisfaction. Thus, the objective of this paper is to build a SQA maturity model, particularly in the telecommunication industry. To achieve this, this research identified perspectives and factors based on a comprehensive literature review and experts’ inputs using Hierarchical Decision Modeling (HDM) as the methodology. The proposed model consists of five perspectives, which are requirements validation, testing, software change management control, technology, and organization and culture with every perspective containing relevant factors. The factors and perspectives are validated and quantified using SQA inputs from subject matter experts. The findings of this study suggest that requirements validation is the most important perspective. Two case studies were conducted to identify the maturity score for each case, demonstrate the practicality of the research model, identify areas of deficiencies, and propose corrective actions. This paper provides an in-depth look at software quality factors and their relative importance, targeting to help SQA practitioners understand and assess their SQA practices.