The Economics of Software Quality Assurance: A Simulation-Based Case Study
Authors: Abdel-Hamid, Tarek K.
Journal: MIS Quarterly (1988)
DOI: 10.2307/249206
<jats:p>Software quality assurance (QA) is a critical function in the successful development and maintenance of software systems. Because the QA activity adds significantly to the cost of developing software, the cost-effectiveness of QA has been a pressing concern to software quality managers. As of yet, though, this concern has not been adequately addressed in the literature.</jats:p> <jats:p>The objective of this article is to investigate the tradeoffs between the economic benefits and costs of QA. A comprehensive system dynamics model of the software development process was developed that serves as an experimentation vehicle for QA policy. One such experiment, involving a NASA software project, is discussed in detail. In this experiment, the level of QA expenditure was found to have a significant impact on the project’s total cost. The model was also used to identify the optimal QA expenditure level and its distribution throughout the project’s lifecycle.</jats:p>