Software Process and Product ISO Standards - Dr. Rafa E. AL ...

293 Rafa E. Al-Qutaish and Khalid Al-Sarayrehincludes the general requirements for the specification and the evaluation of the software quality, andpresents a framework to evaluate the quality of all types of software product [8].Figure 5: Relationship between the Evaluation Process and the Evaluation Support [8].Evaluation ProcessISO/IEC 14598-3Process for DevelopersISO/IEC 14598-2Evaluation SupportISO/IEC 14598-6ISO/IEC 14598-4Process for AcquirersISO/IEC 14598-5Process for EvaluatorsPlanningandManagementDocumentation ofEvaluationModulesFigure 5 illustrates the relationship between the parts 3, 4, and 5 (evaluation process) and theparts 2 and 6 (evaluation support) of the ISO 14598 series of standards [8].The ISO 14598 part-2 – planning and management – presents details about the planning andmanagement requirements that are associated with the software product evaluation, and it defines therequirements which should be provided by the organization in order to ensure the success of theevaluation process [9].The part-3 of the ISO 14598 series of standards – process for developers – may be used toapply the concepts explained in the ISO 9126 series of standards and the ISO 14598 parts 1, 2, and 6[10]. It gives recommendations and requirements for the practical implementation of the softwareproduct evaluation, in parallel with the development, by the developer [10]. This part of the ISO 14598series of standards may be used by the project manager, software designer, quality assurance audit,maintainer, and/or software acquirer [10].The part-4 of the ISO 14598 series of standards – process for acquirers – includes requirements,recommendations and guidelines for the systematic measurement, assessment and evaluation of thesoftware product quality [11]. The evaluation process explained in this part of the ISO 14598 series ofstandards helps to meet the objectives and the goals of deciding on the acceptance of a single productor for selecting a product [11]. This part-4 of the ISO 14598 series may be used by the projectmanager, system engineers, software engineering staff, and/or end users [11].The ISO 14598 part-5 – process for evaluators – may be used to apply the concepts explainedin ISO 9126 series of standards by providing requirements and recommendations for the practicalimplementation of the software product evaluation when several parties need to understand, accept, andtrust the evaluation results [12]. The evaluation process explained in this part of the ISO 14598 seriesdefines the activities needed to analyze the evaluation requirements, to specify, design, and perform theevaluation actions and to conclude the evaluation of any kind of software product [12]. This part of theISO 14598 series may be used by testing laboratory evaluators, software suppliers, software acquirer,software users, and/or certification bodies [12].Finally, the part-6 of the ISO 14598 series of standards – documentation of evaluation modules– clarifies and defines the contents, the formation, and the structure of the documentation to be used toillustrate an evaluation module [13]. This part of the ISO 14598 series may be used by testinglaboratories, research institutions and organizations, and any others who need to produce newevaluation modules [13].