Quality aspects of software product supply and support using the Internet
Date
1998
Authors
Braude, Bruce Shaun
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Abstract
This project explores the use of the Internet to supply and support software
products within a quality management system. The Software Engineering
Applications Laboratory (SEAL) at the University of the Witwatersrand is in the
process of developing various software products that will be commercially
distributed in the near future. The SEAL has chosen to use the Internet to
supply and support these products. A system has been developed for this task
and has been named the Internet System for the Supply and Support of
Software (IS4).
The SEAL is committed to developing and supplying software within a quality
management system. Consequently an investigation was undertaken into the
quality characteristics and requirements based on the ISO 9001 standard for
quality assurance and the ISO/lEC JTG1/SC7 software engineering standards.
The investigation focused on quality requirements for processes related to
supplying and supporting software as well as on the quality characteristics of
the IS4 and the IS4 development process. These quality concerns have been
incorporated into the SEAL's quality management system, the design and
development of the IS4 and the development process for SEAL products.
Major technical issues that have influenced the design of the IS4 have been the
control of the supply and licensing of the supplied products and the transaction
processing of the on-line sales. To control the supply and licenSing of the
supplied products, various issues such as unlock keys, Internet based
registration, controlled access and hardware control have been investigated.
The advantages and disadvantages of each have been investigated and a
suitable lmplernentat'on has been used in the IS4. To process the on-line
transactions the IS4 will be developed to be compliant with the recently released
'Secure Electronic Transactions' (SET) standard.
The project has been managed in accordance with the SEAL's Quality
Management System (QMS) which is ISO 9001 compliant. The system contains
a Shopper Interface for purchasing of SEAL products and a Manager Interface
for administration of the system. The Microsoft BackOffice® set of software has
formed the foundation on which the system has been developed. One of the
focuses of the project was maintainability of the IS4. Documentation and
procedures have been developed to aid in administration and perfective
maintenance in the future.
Description
A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Engineering ,
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in
fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of
Science in Engineering.
Johannesburg, 1998.
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Citation
Braude, Bruce Shaun (1998) Quality aspects of software product supply and support using the Internet, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, <http://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/20909>