Some developments in software quality systems

Discusses some related developments in software quality, one in the methodology of user‐centred design and one in the process of continuous assessment. The Taguchi method of experimental design is being used to improve the quality of user interfaces. A new methodology of user interface design (LUCID) is being developed, which promises to produce a quantum improvement in the quality of such interfaces. Describes a major survey of quality auditors in the UK which aimed to discover the differences between what the ISO 9000 family of standards claim to be measuring, what the auditor actually measures and what they claim are signs of good quality. Reports on the findings of a Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) sponsored project in which Cranfield University, the British Standards Institution and ICL looked at the issues involved in remote auditing of quality management systems.