An Integrated Approach to Quality Modelling

Software quality is described by various views using different attributes and models. All these types of software quality have their own benefits and applications. However, the isolated solutions do not allow an integrated view on software quality. This renders a comprehensive analysis of software difficult and causes overlaps and inconsistencies in the models. Therefore, this paper proposes an integrated approach to quality modelling. The approach is based on the idea to use an explicit meta-model that provides the means to develop a base quality model. This base model contains the relevant relationships w.r.t. quality. Furthermore, so-called purpose models are derived by quantifying from this basis in order to aid specific tasks in quality management. The approach is illustrated with a proven example of a meta-model and derived quality model for maintainability.