Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
µ(
X
)
1
0
X
K
FIGURE 1.1
A membership function for an affordable software.
1
In general, q
uality
2
is a fuzzy linguistic variable because quality can be very
subjective. What is of a high quality to someone might not be a high quality to
another. It can be defined with respect to attributes such as cost or reliability. It is a
degree of membership of an attribute or a characteristic that a product or software
can or should have. For example, a product should be reliable, or a product should
be both reliable and usable, or a product should be reliable or repairable. Similarly,
software should be affordable, efficient, and effective. These are some characteristics
that a good quality product or software must have. In brief, quality is a desirable
characteristic that is subjective. The desired qualities are the ones that satisfy the
functional and nonfunctional requirements of a project. Figure 1.1 shows a possible
membership function,
(
X
), for the affordable software with respect to the cost (
X
).
When the word “quality” is used in describing a software application or any
product, it implies a product or software program that you might have to pay more
for or spend more time searching to find.
µ
1.2
QUALITY, CUSTOMER NEEDS, AND FUNCTIONS
The quality of a software product for a customer is a product that meets or exceeds
requirements or expectations. Quality can be achieved through many levels (Braude,
1
where
K
is the max cost value of the software after which the software will be not be affordable (
µ
(
K
)
=
0).
2
J. M. Juran (1988) defined quality as “fitness for use.” However, other definitions are widely discussed.
Quality as “conformance to specifications” is a position that people in the manufacturing industry often
promote. Others promote wider views that include the expectations that the product or service being deliv-
ered 1) meets customer standards, 2) meets and fulfills customer needs, 3) meets customer expectations,
and 4) will meet unanticipated future needs and aspirations.
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