Top #4 Importance of Software Quality in Business

The quality of your software matters in the growth of your brand. Know more about the importance of software quality assurance in business.

How do you know if a software is good or bad? Does the reputation of the company determine the quality of their softwares? Or is it just simply based on customer satisfaction? 

Before answering these, we must know the answer to this basic question : Why is software quality important in business?

The quality of your software impacts your business in diverse ways. It influences your business in ways more than just customer satisfaction and practicality. Most successful businesses own exceptionally efficient and remarkable softwares. It encourages client satisfaction and company reputation while establishing high end security.

In this article, we talk about everything you need to know about software quality in software engineering from the importance of software quality to the various quality assurance approaches, we go through all the principal key points on the subject. 

So what exactly do you mean by “software quality”? Let’s find out.

Defining Software Quality 

Software quality refers to the process of defining a software. The “quality” in this context indicates both structural quality and functionality of the program. The software quality measures a software’s purpose and stability. Elements like reliability, maintainability and authenticity are likewise qualities of a good software.

The quality of a software can have different perspectives that can differ from that of a user and a developer. A user might prefer a software that is simple and user friendly, whereas a developer might insist on a software that is readily modifiable and strong. A high-quality software does not have defects or bugs. It satisfies every requirement and expectations of a perfectly functioning software. It is also budget friendly and delivered on time. In the most elemental sense, a high-quality software fulfills the essential purpose for which it was created.

There are certain standards that one could stick to in order to build softwares that are time efficient and economical. Adopting this system eliminates greater chances of errors and miscalculations, accordingly  increasing the quality of the software by better development.

What are software quality standards?

Quality standards are specific key specifications that make sure that your software is functional. It is a process that tracks the software engineering procedures to secure that the product is fault free. There are different quality standards in software engineering available. We will go through each of them in detail soon. The implementation of these quality standards results in outcomes of better customer satisfaction and lowered errors or bugs.

The three vital aspects of software quality standards are functionality, structurality, and process quality. Functional quality tests if the software does what it proposes to do without errors. This consists of assuring good performance and meeting the specific requirements. The aspect of structurality deals with the code of the program. It monitors the code maintainability and security. Process quality establishes that the software satisfies delivery dates and functions within the budget. 

These quality metrics in software engineering primarily concentrate on the subsequent aspects :performance efficiency, practicality, Unity, reliability, and security. Before we dive into various quality standards, we must have a clear insight of why quality assurance is important for businesses and companies.

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Importance of software quality

Software quality is essential as it safeguards security and usability. A high-quality software brings in predictability. It guarantees the functionality and credibility of the enterprise. It is further critical for customer satisfaction and holding their trust in your services.

Read more: Importance of mobile app for Business

Why is software quality assurance important in system development

Here are a few features on why software quality assurance is important.

#1. Saves time and money

Proper quality assurance checks to make sure that your software does not consist of bugs. Not abiding by these standards can be severely unfavorable in the long run. Some faults, if not recognized in time, can contribute to significant losses. Therefore, in software development, it is vital to periodically review your software quality as you could save a ton of time and money.

#2. Strengthen security

The security of your software must be the dominant concern in your company or enterprise. A protected software never puts the company’s data at risk. It never approves unwarranted access. This is essential to safeguard the company's reputation and preserve clients’ trust in your brand. The more secure your software is, the more credible your business is.

#3. Brand reputation

Any controversy regarding your company software may have radical impacts on the goodwill of your enterprise. If by any chance, your software malfunctions, your company’s reputation is at risk. It further brings down the market value of your brand. It likewise may potentially lead to lawsuits and other legal situations. Accordingly, high-quality software develops into a part of the company’s brand, hence exemplifying the importance of software quality .

#4. User satisfaction

Client satisfaction is necessary for the expansion of a company. If your software is eminently functional and easy to use, its proficiency in efficiency leads to higher customer satisfaction. Simple and user-friendly elements are attributes of a good software.

Software Quality Assurance

Software quality assurance is a simple way to ensure the quality of your software. It consists of a series of procedures to assess the functioning and reliability of your software. These standards drive businesses to prioritize functionality and accessibility in their softwares. Software quality assurance standards also fixate on cost reduction and quality performance by overseeing the design process and design quality in software engineering.

Ideally, this assessment must function parallel to developing the software. This facilitates identifying minor errors in the software before they become a major issue. Software quality assurance is a process that has to be applied throughout the entire process of software engineering.

Software quality assurance in software engineering consists of a series of steps. The first step is to have an estimation of the software requirements.  Concerned professions are to make a clear definition of software expectations and requirements. The information collected from the analysis is utilized to plan tests. This test plan must also take into consideration budgets, deadlines and expectations along with the required tools and methods for detecting errors and bugs.

The next step in quality control in software engineering includes designing the tests. Each test must check the functionality of the software with the help of data available. An expected test result is also to be included for comparison purposes. This leads to the next step, which is execution of the designed tests. A defect tracking system makes a note of all the bugs in the software. Once the bugs are found, the software is retested. Once all the bugs are eliminated, the final test results are released.

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Different types of Quality Assurance Standards    

Now that we have gone over the importance of software quality standards, let’s look at the numerous quality standards available today. 

#1. ISO 9000 and ISO 9001

ISO 9001 is the Internationally Recognized Quality Management System (QMS), established in 1982, is the most widely used standard in the world. It is designed to be a powerful business improvement tool that benefits organizations of any size. ISO 9001 primarily focuses on reducing cost and improving streamline operations. ISO quality standard has 7 principles of focus that are Engagement of people, Customer focus, Leadership, Process approach Improvement,Evidence-based decision making and Relationship management.

#2. CMMI level

The CMMI Level stands for Capability Maturity Model Integration. Designed majorly for software improvement, is a framework that helps enterprises and businesses in their software development. It consists of five levels based on the maturity of assurance. These stages include Initial, Repeatable, defined, Managed and Optimized. Each level focuses on a continuous improvement of the software.

#3. TMM 

TMM stands for Test Maturity Level. Similar to CMMI, TMM also has five levels of assessment. These levels are Initial, Definition, Integration, Management and Measurement, and Optimization. The difference between CMMI and TMM is that, unlike CMMI, TMM focuses more on the processes that might contribute to the improvement of the software. Whereas, CMMI fixates on the process of software development.

Conclusion

Now that we have cleared the essentials of software quality and assurance, you might now recognise the importance of software quality standards in software project management. The trust people have in your company likewise relies on its functionality. Customer satisfaction is the key to business growth. The role of software quality assurance is crucial for this trust. In a sense, the quality of your software reflects your brand identity and  this identity is exactly what moves your brand forward. 

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