Software Quality Journal 

About: Software Quality Journal is an academic journal published by Springer Science+Business Media. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Software quality & Software development. It has an ISSN identifier of 0963-9314. Over the lifetime, 822 publications have been published receiving 19288 citations.

Usability measurement and metrics: A consolidated model

Abstract: Usability is increasingly recognized as an important quality factor for interactive software systems, including traditional GUIs-style applications, Web sites, and the large variety of mobile and PDA interactive services. Unusable user interfaces are probably the single largest reasons why encompassing interactive systems --- computers plus people, fail in actual use. The design of this diversity of applications so that they actually achieve their intended purposes in term of ease of use is not an easy task. Although there are many individual methods for evaluating usability; they are not well integrated into a single conceptual framework that facilitate their usage by developers who are not trained in the filed of HCI. This is true in part because there are now several different standards (e.g., ISO 9241, ISO/IEC 9126, IEEE Std.610.12) or conceptual models (e.g., Metrics for Usability Standards in Computing [MUSiC]) for usability, and not all of these standards or models describe the same operational definitions and measures. This paper first reviews existing usability standards and models while highlighted the limitations and complementarities of the various standards. It then explains how these various models can be unified into a single consolidated, hierarchical model of usability measurement. This consolidated model is called Quality in Use Integrated Measurement (QUIM). Included in the QUIM model are 10 factors each of which corresponds to a specific facet of usability that is identified in an existing standard or model. These 10 factors are decomposed into a total of 26 sub-factors or measurable criteria that are furtherdecomposed into 127 specific metrics. The paper explains also how a consolidated model, such as QUIM, can help in developing a usability measurement theory.

Measuring usability as quality of use

Abstract: The conventional assumption that quality is an attribute of a product is misleading, as the attributes required for quality will depend on how the product is used. Quality of use is therefore defined as the extent to which a product satisfies stated and implied needs when used under stated conditions. Quality of use can be used to measure usability as the extent to which specific goals can be achieved with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction by specified users carrying out specified tasks in specified environments. Practical and reliable methods of measuring quality of use have been developed by the MUSiC project. These provide criteria for usability which can be incorporated into a quality system. A description is given of the MUSiC methods for specifying the context of use and measuring effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction.

Usability Meanings and Interpretations in ISO Standards

Abstract: The usability of a software product has recently become a key software quality factor. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has developed a variety of models to specify and measure software usability but these individual models do not support all usability aspects. Furthermore, they are not yet well integrated into current software engineering practices and lack tool support. The aim of this research is to survey the actual representation (meanings and interpretations) of usability in ISO standards, indicate some of existing limitations and address them by proposing an enhanced, normative model for the evaluation of software usability.

Concise and consistent naming

Abstract: Approximately 70% of the source code of a software system consists of identifiers. Hence, the names chosen as identifiers are of paramount importance for the readability of computer programs and therewith their comprehensibility. However, virtually every programming language allows programmers to use almost arbitrary sequences of characters as identifiers which far too often results in more or less meaningless or even misleading naming. Coding style guides somehow address this problem but are usually limited to general and hard to enforce rules like "identifiers should be self-describing". This paper renders adequate identifier naming far more precisely. A formal model, based on bijective mappings between concepts and names, provides a solid foundation for the definition of precise rules for concise and consistent naming. The enforcement of these rules is supported by a tool that incrementally builds and maintains a complete identifier dictionary while the system is being developed. The identifier dictionary explains the language used in the software system, aids in consistent naming, and supports programmers by proposing suitable names depending on the current context.

Software process improvement in small and medium software enterprises: a systematic review

Abstract: Small and medium enterprises are a very important cog in the gears of the world economy. The software industry in most countries is composed of an industrial scheme that is made up mainly of small and medium software enterprises--SMEs. To strengthen these types of organizations, efficient Software Engineering practices are needed--practices which have been adapted to their size and type of business. Over the last two decades, the Software Engineering community has expressed special interest in software process improvement (SPI) in an effort to increase software product quality, as well as the productivity of software development. However, there is a widespread tendency to make a point of stressing that the success of SPI is only possible for large companies. In this article, a systematic review of published case studies on the SPI efforts carried out in SMEs is presented. Its objective is to analyse the existing approaches towards SPI which focus on SMEs and which report a case study carried out in industry. A further objective is that of discussing the significant issues related to this area of knowledge, and to provide an up-to-date state of the art, from which innovative research activities can be thought of and planned.