The IEEE Software Quality Assurance Plan Standard
The IEEE has standards for many things, including software development. Many of the features of their Quality Assurance Plan Standard are applicable primarily to large, public software projects, but the general idea is applicable to developing Websites as well. To see the standard, you can download the PDF version from: http://www.csc.calpoly.edu/~jdalbey/205/Resources/IEEE7301989.pdf
| QA Plan Sections for Small to Medium Websites | Complete IEEE Standard (for reference) |
|---|---|
|
a) Purpose; b) Reference documents; c) Management; d) Documentation; e) Standards, practices, conventions, and metrics; f) Reviews and audits; g) Test; h) Problem reporting and corrective action; i) Tools, techniques, and methodologies; j) Code control; k) Media control; l) Supplier control; m) Records collection, maintenance, and retention; n) Training; o) Risk management. |
Purpose
The areas we'll be testing in the site, and the sorts of problems looking for.
Test
List specific details that will be tested.
Problem Reporting and Corrective Action
When problems are found, how will the be communicated, and to whom? Who has the responsibility for corrective any given type of problem?
Tools, Techniques, and Methodologies
What software and hardware will be needed for testing? How will we carry out these tests?
Training
What training is necessary to insure that the quality tests can carried out correctly?
Quality Assurance Plan
Purpose: Quality Assurance (QA) testing will be carried out to ensure that code is well-formed and valid, that all links are operational, and that both users and customers are satisfied with the appearance and functioning of the site on various computer system and with various browsers.
Test: The following aspects will be tested:
- All links: tested for operability
- All code: validated against W3C standards
- Compatibility: site rendering will be checked on Internet Explorer 5-present and Netscape 4-present, both on Windows and Macintosh systems
- User testing is described in the previous section (section 6)
- Customer satisfaction will be an issue of ongoing importance throughout development
Problem reporting and corrective action: The QA tester (Robert McBride) and usability testers (Sandy Bergholt and George Yamashida) will report all problems to the Project Manager, who will assign a coder or graphic designer to correct the problem.
Tools, techniques and methodologies:
- Links will be tested manually and using Website maintenance software such as Dreamweaver to automatically check links.
- The W3C validator (http://validator.w3.org/) will be used to validate code.
- Compatibility testing will be carried out using browsers and computers at the firm's office.
Training: Our staff are already trained in the use of all necessary tools and techniques.
- Individual team members get their part of this assignment to the Team Leader by email attachment, or some other method mutually agreed upon in discussion.
- Team Leader makes sure all documents in the milestone of which this is a part are gathered together in a compatible form.
- Team Leader and/or content specialist check for correct spelling and English usage.
- Team leader verifies that material submitted meets the requirements.
- Team leader or content specialist FTP the material to the team's Web site, informing the instructor and other team members by emailing to them the URI.