6 Part 6: V-Modell Reference Activities

6.3 Activities

6.3.2 Planning and Control

6.3.2.3 Preparing the QA Manual

Purpose

Starting from the existing quality-relevant specifications the quality targets to be pursued, the QA measures and the test items will be determined. The documents, processes and system elements that will be subjected to formal testing are called test items. It also will be defined how the receiving inspection and the final inspection of products will have to be performed.

Specifications for these definitions may be described in the project task or in the user requirements. To be able to list and formulate all definitions in the project manual completely and accurately, coordination between the person in charge of quality assurance and the project management will be required. Furthermore, the feasibility of the QA measures under the given project conditions shall be coordinated with project management.

6.3.2.3.1 Determining Quality Goals and Requirements

For all quality requirements of the acquirer, which can be implemented in the project task and which are defined in other documents (such as the project specification), binding quality targets for the project that can be implemented shall be determined and formulated. Subsequently measures shall be defined that make it possible to use measurements to verify when the quality targets have been achieved. The measures taken to improve quality may be both engineering and analytical measures. Engineering measures will include all activities that improve the creation process. Analytical measures will determine the appropriate test measures for achieving the quality targets.

6.3.2.3.2 Determining the Scope of Evaluations

When determining the scope of evaluation, both the »Products to be evaluated and the processes to be evaluated shall be identified.

The products to be evaluated are a selection of all products to be created in the project, which shall be subjected to formal evaluation. This may be for example »Segments, »Software Units or »Software Architectures. Even if products are not designated for formal evaluations, the originator himself is required to perform an evaluation.

Compared to the above described procedures, the in-process evaluation of of a project shall evaluate those products that guarantee conformity with the processes, methods or standards described in the topic »Processes to Be Evaluated. The criteria required for evaluating the conformity with the V-Modell are described in »V-Modell XT Compliance Test. To ensure conformity with AQAP, CMMI®, ISO 15288, »ISO 9001:2000 and the V-Modell 97, the products to be tested were already described under »Mapping to Standards.

6.3.2.3.3 Determining Organization and Directives

The specifications with regard to organization and quality assurance approach shall be determined in this subactivity in the »QA Manual. In this context for example the powers of quality assurance with regard to pursuing and enforcing quality assurance targets shall be defined. For project control, measures to correct or solve »Quality Problems in the course of the project shall be determined. These measures and their state in the course of the project shall be documented in the »Quality Status Reports.

If products are to be delivered to the acquirer, then criteria for the final inspection have to be determined. This may involve for example the following aspects:

• Completeness: Are all components specified in the contract included or does a delivery note exist?
• Sufficient documentation: Are all documents and descriptions included or are all required labels (barcodes) of data carriers available?
• Completion of the inspection measures: Have all agreed inspection measures been successfully completed?

As far as off-the-shelf products will be used, it has to be ensured that the quality of these products will satisfy the operational requirements and that an integration into the system that is to be realized will be possible. For this purpose appropriate inspection measures shall be defined.

In the case that a »Sub-Supplier is to be hired, the quality specifications that apply to him will have to be determined. The subcontractor shall comply with and document these specifications when creating his products.