Systems and Software Quality: The next step for industrialisation

Software and systems quality is playing an increasingly important role in the growth of almost all ─ profit and non-profit ─ organisations. Quality is vital to the success of enterprises in their markets. Most small trade and repair businesses use software systems in their administration and marketing processes. Every doctor’s surgery is managing its patients using software. Banking is no longer conceivable without software. Aircraft, trucks and cars use more and more software to handle their increasingly complex technical systems. Innovation, competition and cost pressure are always present in on-going business decisions. The question facing all these organisations is how to achieve the right quality of their software-based systems and products; how to get the required level of quality, a level that the market will reward, a level that mitigates the organisation’s risks and a level that the organisation is willing to pay for. Although a number of good practices are in place, thereis still room for huge improvements. Thus, let us take a look into the two worlds of “Embedded systems” and “ICT systems” and let us learn from both worlds, from overlaps and individual solutions. The next step for industrialisation in the software industry is required now. Hence, three pillars will be focused in this book: (1) a fundamental notion of right software and systems quality (RiSSQ); (2) portfolio management, quality governance, quality management, and quality engineering as holistic approach over the three layers of an enterprise, i.e. strategic, tactical, and operational layer; and (3) an industrialisation framework for implementing our approach.

Dr. Martin J. Wieczorek

Martin Wieczorek joined SQS Software Quality Systems AG in March 1995. Since then he was appointed to various roles and responsibilities within SQS Group, e.g., Head of Business Unit ‘Telecommunications, E-Commerce and Public’ responsible for sales and delivery, Head of Market Unit ‘Public’ responsible for business development and Director ‘Research and Innovation’ responsible for service management and service innovation in SQS Group.

He has more than 30 years of experience in the fields of software and systems development, quality assurance and testing, quality and risk management, and process improvement. He is experienced in national and international projects and customers like Deutsche Telekom, Public Sector in Germany or Switzerland and NATO. As a software engineer he also participated in international space projects like D1-Mission in the German Space Operations Centre. He also has considerable expertise in training IT professionals and educating students at various universities. He still coaches students in their Bachelor and Master theses.

Martin Wieczorek got his PhD from Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands, in 1994 with his thesis ‘Locative Temporal Logic and Distributed Real-Time Systems – Specification’.

Diederik (Dik) Vos

Dik Vos has been CEO of SQS Software Quality Systems AG since October 2012. He is responsible for the company's strategy and the management of the Group Management Board.

He has considerable expertise in the field of Managed Services, IT Services and Management Consulting. As an internationally experienced manager he demonstrated an ability to drive change within organizations, developing them into profitable companies while increasing customer satisfaction. He previously held senior management positions in AT&T, Lucent Technologies, AVAYA and International Network Services.

Heinz Bons

Heinz Bons is working in the area of Software development and maintenance since 40 years, mainly in the fields of quality management, quality assurance and testing. He gained detailed theoretical, operational as well as management experience in these fields. He is co-author of one of the first books in German on quality assurance and testing in the software lifecycle (published in 1982).

After his studies at the University of Cologne he was a scientific employee at the University inter alia in the field of quality assurance and testing. He is a specialized consultant for these topics since 1981. Heinz Bons is co-founder of SQS Software Quality Systems AG (formerly called ‘SQS Gesellschaft für Software-Qualitätssicherung’). He was Managing Director and Board Member of SQS for about 25 years. Today he is principal consultant at SQS working in defining, implementing, coaching and improving processes, methods and techniques for testing as well as quality management and quality assurance.