Standards in System Development and Iso 9126

Standards in System Development and ISO 9126

CMGT 555

Robert Mattus

University of Phoenix

November 2nd, 2015

By Scott Schuelke

         The international organization for standards (ISO) 9126 defines the quality characteristics as well as sub-characteristics for software products. Quality is categorized as a set of software quality attributes (Software Quality, 2012). These standards were originally designed for the testing and standardization of software product quality, but these principles can be assigned to the system development lifecycle as well. In the standardization there are six main characteristics to the model and each characteristic also contains sub-characteristics. Of these six characteristics, Functionality, Reliability, Usability, Efficiency, Maintainability and Portability we will focus on two. The first, Functionality, the basic functions of software or a system that is dedicated to a set of functions and their properties. The second, Usability a set of attributes dedicated to the use of the system and the effort by the users to use the system. In the System development lifecycle this characteristic ties to the users of the system and how it performs for the user.

Functionality

     What is the definition of functionality as it relates to ISO 9126? Functionality is a set of attributes that bear on the existence of a set of functions and their specified properties. The functions are those that satisfy stated or implied needs (ISO 9126, 2015). There are other sub-characteristics that are associated with functionality. Suitability, accurateness, interoperability, compliance and security are the sub-characteristics that make up the characteristic of functionality. What is suitability to functionality? Suitability relates to how well the designed system performs the required tasks. As system designers gather information about a new system from staff they compile a list of needs from that they try to meet. Accurateness deals with the system and how well it performs. Does the system perform and are the results as expected, if these questions are not positive then the functionality of the system fails. Interoperability deals with whether or not the system can interact with another system, does it have the functionality to connect and communicate with other systems and software. Compliance, does the designed system adhere to standards, conventions or regulations. The final sub-characteristic is security, the ability to prevent access to unauthorized programs and data (Journal of Object Technology, 2003). How well does the system stand up to possible breaches, hacks and other forms of system intrusion, this is a question that must be answered in the security portion of functionality.