Quality Management in IT-Projects

Term Paper (Advanced seminar) , 2022 , 11 Pages , Grade: 1,7

Computer Science - Commercial Information Technology

To map modern business processes in IT systems, increasingly complex software solutions and interfaces are required. When developing these, specific quality requirements must be met. Without an adequate and suitable quality management, problems can arise during the development; for example, if changes are made in the day-to-day business during a project, these often also impact the goals and technical requirements. If test specifications are missing, no overview of the required test cases is possible. If test cases from previous versions are not available as regression tests, the adaptations of the existing software are not or only insufficiently tested. Later software failures or faulty data processing can cause high damages due to production downtimes, damage to reputation and demotivated employees. Poorly or untested software and projects in which requirements are only inadequately met can lead to cost overruns and missed deadlines and thus jeopardise the company's success

Unfortunately, while regular projects can be clearly circumscribed, planned and executed, and the requirements are mostly determined from the beginning, this does not seem to apply to IT developments. IT projects are not an end in themselves but serve specific business units to fulfil their tasks. Often, certain activities shall be carried out more efficiently through IT-supported processes, or additional outputs will be generated to benefit the company. The concerns here can be manifold. However, it is often essential that at least two areas communicate with each other that have little understanding for each other. In practice, it often looks like the business department tries to explain to the IT department what is needed without naming specific IT attributes. On the other hand, the IT employee tries to translate the described wishes and programme them. Unfortunately, the IT employee often lacks the technical knowledge of the subject and doesn’t know which data should be linked with each other or which algorithms describe the process best.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents

Introduction

Quality Management in IT-Projects
Quality Challenges in Software Development
Causes of Quality Issues in IT Development
Recommendations to improve Quality in I.T
Software Development Process with QM Elements

Summary

References

INTRODUCTION

To map modern business processes in IT systems, increasingly complex software solutions and interfaces are required. When developing these, specific quality requirements must be met. Without an adequate and suitable quality management, problems can arise during the development; for example, if changes are made in the day-to-day business during a project, these often also impact the goals and technical requirements. If test specifications are missing, no overview of the required test cases is possible. If test cases from previous versions are not available as regression tests, the adaptations of the existing software are not or only insufficiently tested. Later software failures or faulty data processing can cause high damages due to production downtimes, damage to reputation and demotivated employees. Poorly or untested software and projects in which requirements are only inadequately met can lead to cost overruns and missed deadlines and thus jeopardise the company's success (Baumgartner, et al., 2021). Unfortunately, while regular projects can be clearly circumscribed, planned and executed, and the requirements are mostly determined from the beginning, this does not seem to apply to IT developments. IT projects are not an end in themselves but serve specific business units to fulfil their tasks. Often, certain activities shall be carried out more efficiently through IT-supported processes, or additional outputs will be generated to benefit the company. The concerns here can be manifold. However, it is often essential that at least two areas communicate with each other that have little understanding for each other. In practice, it often looks like the business department tries to explain to the IT department what is needed without naming specific IT attributes. On the other hand, the IT employee tries to translate the described wishes and programme them. Unfortunately, the IT employee often lacks the technical knowledge of the subject and doesn't know which data should be linked with each other or which algorithms describe the process best. On the other hand, the employee in the company department lacks the understanding of programming to describe the requirements conclusively from the IT point of view and can only answer individual questions in a rudimentary way. This usually leads to translation problems and a situation where the project team starts with a basic idea that is further detailed in the course of the project and will receive various modifications and extensions. A so-called agile project. Accordingly, it is difficult to estimate the costs and the schedule at the beginning, and it is not uncommon for both to be exceeded to a considerable extent. This tension area is often under pressure to adhere to the initially agreed specifications, which were also evaluated in a business case. IT projects are therefore often fraught with considerable risks.

QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN IT-PROJECTS

QUALITY CHALLENGES IN SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

As mentioned, development projects in the field of IT are often subject to permanent changes due to an initially vague description of the specifications and requirements (Pandeyk, 2010). Therefore, agile project management methods are regularly used in IT projects. With the help of agile methods such as Scrum, XP, Kanban or Lean Management, the development of software projects has been optimised and simplified for years (Jamieson & Fallah, 2012). This applies to most projects, starting with the planning phase, through implementation, to the subsequent evaluation of the project. Agile organisations are particularly recommended for complex environments, as unforeseen changes require quick reactions and rethinking. Such project management methods are generally characterised by lean processes, fast iteration cycles and focusing on short-term goals. The project strategy is aligned with the customer and their needs. Open and direct communication, a learning-by-doing mentality and the principle of transparency are also central elements in daily agile activities.

However, this is where classical quality management reaches its limits. Classical quality management was introduced to control quality systematically. The systematic approach is necessary because quality is widely understood and can have different targets. For example, developers look for clarity of design and maintainable code, those responsible for operations look for stability and usability, users look for complete implementation of their requirements and software ergonomics, project managers look for adherence to the project process, and finally, clients look for adherence to budgets and deadlines. To align itself with these goals, classical quality management starts from the company's overall goals and derives the objectives for software packages from them. This approach is followed in particular in (TQM) (Youssef & Youssef, 2016). The advantage of classical quality management is that it offers managers a framework for action within quality that can be systematically developed, and the achieved status can be evaluated. However, since classical quality management procedures are strongly process-oriented, they are too inflexible for agile development projects and lead to inefficient and ineffective measures (Peng, et al., 208). Due to their permanent changes, software developments require a different approach than classic process standardisation, which often seems oversized for small and medium-sized software projects.

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• College: University of Western Sydney (School of Engineering, Design and Built Environment)
• Course: Time and Quality Management
• Grade: 1,7
• Author: Martin Henschelchen (Author)
• Publication Year: 2022
• Pages: 11
• Catalog Number: V1250259
• ISBN (PDF): 9783346686961
• ISBN (Book): 9783346686978
• Language: English
• Tags: Quality Management, Agile, software, Project Management