11th International Conference in Software Testing in Kyiv

The 11th International Conference in Software Testing "Software Quality Assurance
Days - Expert Level Testing Ukraine", 21-22 April, 2012 in Kyiv, Ukraine

Towards global collaboration on
software quality improvement:
Formulation of a tailored strategy of
software quality management

April 2012
Susumu Sasabe
JUSE
(Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers)
Copyright © Susumu Sasabe 2012 1

Overview

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Key concepts of quality management in Japan
• 3. Software quality improvement practices in
Japan
• 4. Enhancing software quality management in
next decade
• A model of global mutual enhancement of the
Software quality management intelligent assets
• 5. Conclusion


1. Introduction

About JUSE
• JUSE: Union of Japanese Scientists and
Engineers, established in 1946.
• To promote systematic studies necessary for the
advancement of science and technology
– Education and Training
– Awarding (The “Deming Prize”, established by JUSE)
– Certification (JCSQE: Software Quality Engineers)
– Convention, Symposium, Forum
– Publicity, Publishing (periodicals, Textbooks)

1. Introduction

About JSQC
• JSQC: The Japanese Society for Quality Control,
established in 1970.
• To research quality management technologies
and to promote their application to industries
– Support research and development
– Support joint promotions that involve both
academia and industry
– Convention, Symposium, Forum
– Publicity, Publishing (periodicals, academic journals)

1. Introduction

Software Business Environment in
Next Decade
• It is increasingly more complex, dynamic, and
uncertain in a global multicultural engineering
context
• (1) Globally interconnected relations
• (2) Un-experienced changes
• Global collaboration on software quality
improvement would be needed.


1. Introduction

Modern Quality Control in Japan
• JUSE focused on “Quality” after World War II
• Start of SQC (Statistical Quality Control)
– Study group of top management invited Juran,
Schuhart, and Deming.
– SQC spread over Japanese industries, such as Steel,
Chemical, Machine, Electronics, Automotive.
• Creation of “Kaizen” and “TQC/TQM” (Total
Quality Control/Total Quality Management)
– Contributed to the Japan’s rapid economic growth

2. Key concepts of Quality Management in Japan

Key concepts of Quality Management in Japan

• Customer First
• “KAIZEN”: Continuous Improvement
• Process Approach
• Problem Solving Capability (Root cause analysis
with various problem solving methods and
tools)
• Respect people’s motivation (focus on fault
prevention itself, not on blaming people)


Customer First (1)
SONY’s Challenge of Business:
True Understanding of Customer’s Value
First Tape Recorder in the world in 1950
“Walkman” in 1979
1950 1979

Source: Sasabe and Fessler, Management
Conference in Madrid, 2011


Customer First (2)
Traditional Cast-Iron Tea pot in Northern Japan

Display from a customer’s viewpoint


“Kaizen”: Continuous Improvement (1)

Kaizen: The Key To
Japan's Competitive
Success

Book written by Masaaki
Imai and published in
1986



Rolling of PDCA cycle:
(Plan – Do – Check – Act)

A P

C D



Japan: Repeat small improvement in a step-by-step way
Many Nose Designs of High Speed Train in Japan



Problem Solving Capability
Cause-and-Effect Diagram
5th why (Ishikawa Diagram)
B 4th why
C
Procedure Policy 1st why
D 2nd why Why
A Defects?
3rd why Defects
(Problem)

People Environment
Source: A New American TQM, Shoji Shiba, et al, 1993


Process Approach
A traditional tea party in Japan:
Customers enjoy a process of making tea as well as tea itself


3. Software Quality Improvement Practices in Japan

Start of Quality Improvement in Software
• TQC/TQM was also introduced in non-
manufacturing companies from middle of 1970s.
– Construction, Power Utility, Service, and Software
• JUSE established a software quality study group
called “SPC” in 1980.
• “SPC”: To promote the idea of Japanese TQM,
methodology, and tools to the software industry
• The activities are continuing for over 30 years.
– “SPC” renewed its name as “SQiP” in 2007.


An Example: “SWQC” in NEC
• NEC launched a company-wide
software quality improvement
activities called “SWQC” in 1981.
• TQM concept and methods
already developed in the
company were applied to the
software business domain.
• Case studies and practices of
the NEC’s SWQC were published
in 1990.


Process Approach: Process Network Diagram
• A set of tasks that, when properly performed,
produces the desired result.
process
process
process
process process Output
Input process

process process

System view with Process Network clarifies:
- Responsibility and right (Scope & relations of activity)
- Input specification (entry criteria)
- Resource and Technology (process parameter)
- Release (exit criteria)


Design of Process Architecture
Program Kickoff Project Kickoff
Shipment Shipment

period
Trend Analysis Solution Set
period
Development Plan
Business Strategy
Technology development Customize Integ V&V
Market Information
Development Tools
Customize Integ V&V
Customer Information
Component Development Add Integ V&V

Knowledge Asset
Technology outsourcing Repeated
Platform Development cyclically
Next Generation Platform
Core Core
Competence Architecture Development Competence
•Development Tools Next Generation Arch. •V&V Tools
•Solution Set •Data for V&V


Process Network Analysis (PNA) method
Input Specification
Insufficient Input
Output Specification

Process 2 problem description of
Information?
problem
Process 4
counter- description of
measures counter-
measure

Process 1 Process 3 Process 5
Input
Output
Specification
Specification
Input
Output
Specification
Specification
Input
Output
Specification
Specification
*
Quality
problem description of
problem problem
problem
problem

measures counter-
measure
found
measures counter-
measure
measures counter-
measure

here
Necessary process missing?
Example of Worksheet for Process Network analysis


Quality Improvement using PNA

• Product quality improvement in one
Development Division

• Inter-process analysis between the Division
and sub-contracted partner design
suppliers.

• From 2000 to 2001, PNA method applied to
all 42 projects and all 13 suppliers.


Product Quality
Performance
Number of
(# of bugs/KLOC) 40 27 64 42
normalized value projects
projects projects projects projects
(number of
(21) (13) (12) (13)
partners)
Product Quality

１０
８．５５
PNA method was applied
Performance

６．９８
Worst
４．９２
Value 1/2
kaizen
５３．３８

Average
１．００ value
０．９６

０
・・
０，８０
・・
０．３５
1/3
kaizen
１９９８１９９９２０００２００１
Fiscal Year

Product Quality Performance is normalized using Average Value in 1998 as 1.00.
Product Quality Performance improvement
(all partner companies’ performance)


Process Improvement Models and PNA
• Highest Product Quality Performance
can be achieved with Three elements.
– 1) Process Improvement Models:
• Global common models with Process Approach
– 2) Practices:
• Using suitable methods developed through repeated
practices (PNA and conventional QC methods)
– 3) People:
• Kaizen motivation through coaching and training of PNA
method
• Three elements lead to a fusion of Process
Improvement Models and TQM method.

ISO9004 TQM
PMBOK CMMI
QMS Accumulation of
Process Model

Body of ＋＋ Description ＋
description of actual practices
knowledge of Best Practices
requirement (over 20 years)
ex. WBS Without “How “Goals” and “How
to” Combined to”

Not effective without practices Practices
Practice

Training, Consulting Method Creation
Education Know-how Accumulated PNA method
PNA Diagrams
People

Individual training, Coaching, Mentoring
PNA Training
Integrated Quality Management
Course
Integration of multiple process improvement models
and Organization’s own TQM method

4. Enhancing Software Quality Management in Next Decade

Two Dimensions of Process Improvement
Practices
- Process Modeling - Harmony of Theory
- Theory-based Improvement and Reality
High

- Single Model Principle - Harmony of Short and
Theory-based

- Rules first Long Term
- Textual - Everlasting Process Evolution
- TQM (Europe) - Continuous Innovation

- TQM (Japan)
- Failures are Mistakes
- PDCA
Low

- Intuitive
- Systematic Problem Solving
- Short-sighted
- Verbal

Low High
Pragmatism


Integration of Regional Strong points:
Engineering Process Improvement Paths

- High Performance
- European Way
High

- Global
Theory-based
Low

- Japanese Way
- Low performance
- Local

Low High
Pragmatism


SQuBOK Guide Book
• “SQuBOK Guide – Guide
to the Software Quality
Body of Knowledge”

• SQuBOK Guide was
developed and released
in November 2007 in
Japan



Overview of the SQuBOK
• Y. Okazaki, T. Okawa, A. Sakakibara,
“SQuBOK (Software Quality Body of Knowledge)
project - “Guide to the SQuBOK Version 1” born this
way -”, 4th World Congress for Software Quality,
Bethesda, Maryland, USA, 2008
• Y. Okazaki, T. Okawa, A. Sakakibara: SQuBOK
(Software Quality Body of Knowledge) Project –
Development of “Guide to the Software Quality Body
of Knowledge” – , Proceedings of the CONQUEST 2007,
2007, p.155-163


A Hybrid Integration of the SQuBOK

• The SQuBOK is a hybrid integration of software
quality intellectual assets recognized and
practiced both in Japan and in the world.
• The hybrid integration has been achieved with
descriptions using the common information
framework and templates



A Hybrid Integration of the SQuBOK

International
Software quality software quality
intellectual assets intellectual assets
in Japan (International standards
and de facto standards)
(Regional Assets) (International Assets)

Information framework and Templates
of the SQuBOK



Software Quality Intellectual Assets
in Japan in the SQuBOK
• Two key factors in the SQuBOK software
quality management practices in Japan
• (1) Creating and guiding capability to
organizational software quality goal
• (2) Adaptability to changes with a problem
solving capability of software people



Creating and Guiding Capability to
Organizational Software Quality Goal
• Organization-wide software quality improvement
practices in Japan
• Confusion and inconsistent different ideas among
software people are managed with TQM concept
• A compact and clear message spoken among top and
bottom in the organization
• Organization-wide software quality education program
• Promotional seminars at JUSE with software quality
improvement methods and tools which developed and
practiced widely in Japan


Adaptability to Changes with a
Problem Solving Capability
• Methods and tools are often focused on fault
prevention as well as fault resolution in Japan
• Externally observable facts are not sufficient to
understand actual state of processes that might cause
failure
• Continuous applications of the fault prevention
practice motivate the software people’s capability to
understand deeply their processes and chain of
processes spanning their colleagues and to predict
possible faults in the future


A Model of Global Mutual
Enhancement of the SQuBOK
• Each of software quality management cultures in the
world would have its strong areas and weak areas
• By looking at and exploring the other practices in
other regions the weak areas can be clearly
recognized and be motivated to overcome the
weakness
• The strong areas can also be transported to the other
environment to support to create new ideas for a
better progress in the region and in the world


A Model of Global Mutual Enhancement
of the SQuBOK
Region A Region B
Step 1: regional SQuBOK is
not compiled yet
( International assets)

Step 2: regional SQuBOK is
compiled in hybrid integration

Step 3: sharing and practicing the
hybrid integration of the
SQuBOK mutually among regions

Step 4: Upgrading the international
standards and internationally
recognized practices with new
successful intellectual assets


Benefit of Hybrid Integration of the
SQuBOK
• Software people can recognize and experience other
region’s successful practices and
• Software people has an increased chance of
integration to their own regional SQuBOK if they
understand it useful and it fits their regional software
quality management situation
• Easy access to understand of respective history and
attitudes of quality improvement, which influence the
implementation of the software quality management

5. Conclusion

Conclusion
• Before the SQuBOK was released the software quality
management practices successfully practiced in Japan
were very hard to access and understand from
outside Japan
• The hybrid integration of the SQuBOK supports to
formulate a tailored strategy of software quality
management which fits to each region
• The SQuBOK enhances the software quality
management in next decade as a useful knowledge
tool for global teamwork

Thank you


11th International Conference in Software Testing in Kyiv

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