There are essentially two approaches to assure product quality, one being the assurance of the process by which the product has been developed, and the other being the evaluation of the quality end product. Both these approaches are important and both require the presence of a system for managing quality. This approach is especially relevant in the overall area of information technology management in the federal government where substantial resources are expended in the acquisition, development and maintenance of software. The purpose of the standard is therefore to provide a uniform set of criteria for the acquisition, development and maintenance of software to ensure quality and performance. This standard defines six characteristics that describe, with minimal overlap, software quality.
Guidelines describe the use of quality characteristics for the evaluation of software quality.
The definition of characteristics and the associated quality evaluation process model in this standard are applicable when specifying the requirements for and evaluating the quality of software products throughout their life cycle. This standard provides the basic set of criteria for quality characteristics and will support other more detailed standards which are currently being developed. These more detailed standards include guidance on the application of the characteristics, metrics, planning, developers' guide, users' guide, assessor's guide and metrics indicators. The characteristics are applicable to all software, including computer programs and data contained in firmware. This standard does not provide sub-characteristics and metrics and methods for measurement, rating and assessment.