Abstractness
the degree to which a system or component performs only the necessary functions relevant to a particular purpose.
Acceptance testing
formal testing conducted to determine whether or not a system satisfies its acceptance criteria and to enable the customer to determine whether or not to accept the system [IEEE 90].
Accessibility
(Denial of Service) the degree to which the software system protects system functions or service from being denied to the user
(Reusability) the degree to which a software system or component facilitates the selective use of its components [Boehm 78].
Accuracy
a quantitative measure of the magnitude of error [IEEE 90].
Acquisition cycle time
the period of time that starts when a system is conceived and ends when the product meets its initial operational capability.
Adaptability
the ease with which software satisfies differing system constraints and user needs [Evans 87].
Adaptive maintenance
software maintenance performed to make a computer program usable in a changed environment [IEEE 90].
Adaptive measures
a category of quality measures that address how easily a system can evolve or migrate.
Agent
a piece of software which acts to accomplish tasks on behalf of its user [McGill 96].
Anonymity
the degree to which a software system or component allows for or supports anonymous transactions.
ANSI
American National Standards Institute. This organization is responsible for approving U.S. standards in many areas, including computers and communications. Standards approved by this organization are often called ANSI standards (e.g., ANSI C is the version of the C language approved by ANSI). ANSI is a member of ISO. See also: International Organization for Standardization.
Application program interface
a formalized set of software calls and routines that can be referenced by an application program in order to access supporting system or network services [ITS 96].
Architectural design
the process of defining a collection of hardware and software components and their interfaces to establish the framework for the development of a computer system [IEEE 90].
Artificial intelligence
a subfield within computer science concerned with developing technology to enable computers to solve problems (or assist humans in solving problems) using explicit representations of knowledge and reasoning methods employing that knowledge [DoD 91].
Auditable
the degree to which a software system records information concerning transactions performed against the system.
Availability
the degree to which a system or component is operational and accessible when required for use [IEEE 90].
Capacity
a measure of the amount of work a system can perform [Barbacci 95].
Code
the transforming of logic and data from design specifications (design descriptions) into a programming language [IEEE 90].
Commonality
the degree to which standards are used to achieve interoperability.
Communication software
software concerned with the representation, transfer, interpretation, and processing of data among computer systems or networks. The meaning assigned to the data must be preserved during these operations.
Compactness
the degree to which a system or component makes efficient use of its data storage space- occupies a small volume.
Compatibility
the ability of two or more systems or components to perform their required functions while sharing the same hardware or software environment [IEEE 90].
Completeness
the degree to which all the parts of a software system or component are present and each of its parts is fully specified and developed [Boehm 78].
Complexity
(Apparent) the degree to which a system or component has a design or implementation that is difficult to understand and verify [IEEE 90].
(Inherent) the degree of complication of a system or system component, determined by such factors as the number and intricacy of interfaces, the number and intricacy of conditional branches, the degree of nesting, and the types of data structures [Evans 87].
Component testing
testing of individual hardware or software components or groups of related components [IEEE 90].
Concept phase
the initial phase of a software development project, in which the user needs are described and evaluated through documentation (for example, statement of needs, advance planning report, project initiation memo, feasibility studies, system definition, documentation, regulations, procedures, or policies relevant to the project) [IEEE 90].
Conciseness
the degree to which a software system or component has no excessive information present.
Confidentiality
the nonoccurrence of the unauthorized disclosure of information [Barbacci 95].
Consistency
the degree of uniformity, standardization, and freedom from contradiction among the documents or parts of a system or component [IEEE 90].
Corrective maintenance
maintenance performed to correct faults in hardware or software [IEEE 90].
Correctness
the degree to which a system or component is free from faults in its specification, design, and implementation [IEEE 90].
Cost estimation
the process of estimating the "costs" associated with software development projects, to include the effort, time, and labor required.
Cost of maintenance
the overall cost of maintaining a computer system to include the costs associated with personnel, training, maintenance control, hardware and software maintenance, and requirements growth.
Cost of operation
the overall cost of operating a computer system to include the costs associated with personnel, training, and system operations.
Cost of ownership
the overall cost of a computer system to an organization to include the costs associated with operating and maintaining the system, and the lifetime of operational use of the system.
Data management security
the protection of data from unauthorized (accidental or intentional) modification, destruction, or disclosure [ITS 96].
Data management
the function that provides access to data, performs or monitors the storage of data, and controls input/output operations [McDaniel 94].
Data recording
to register all or selected activities of a computer system. Can include both external and internal activity.
Data reduction
any technique used to transform data from raw data into a more useful form of data. For example, grouping, summing, or averaging related data [IEEE 90].
Database administration
the responsibility for the definition, operation, protection, performance, and recovery of a database [IEEE 90].
Database design
the process of developing a database that will meet a user's requirements. The activity includes three separate but dependent steps: conceptual database design, logical database design, and physical database design [IEEE 91].
Database
a collection of logically related data stored together in one or more computerized files. Note: Each data item is identified by one or more keys [IEEE 90].
an electronic repository of information accessible via a query language interface [DoD 91].
Denial of service
the degree to which a software system or component prevents the interference or disruption of system services to the user.
Dependability
that property of a computer system such that reliance can justifiably be placed on the service it delivers [Barbacci 95].
Design phase
the period of time in the software life cycle during which the designs for architecture, software components, interfaces, and data are created, documented, and verified to satisfy requirements [IEEE 90].
Detailed design
the process of refining and expanding the preliminary design of a system or component to the extent that the design is sufficiently complete to be implemented [IEEE 90].
Distributed computing
a computer system in which several interconnected computers share the computing tasks assigned to the system [IEEE 90].
Domain analysis
the activity that determines the common requirements within a domain for the purpose of identifying reuse opportunities among the systems in the domain. It builds a domain architectural model representing the commonalities and differences in requirements within the domain (problem space) [ARC 96].
Domain design
the activity that takes the results of domain analysis to identify and generalize solutions for those common requirements in the form of a Domain-Specific Software Architecture (DSSA). It focuses on the problem space, not just on a particular system's requirements, to design a solution (solution space) [ARC 96].
Domain engineering
the process of analysis, specification and implementation of software assets in a domain which are used in the development of multiple software products [SEI 96]. The three main activities of domain engineering are: domain analysis, domain design, and domain implementation [ARC 96].
Domain implementation
the activity that realizes the reuse opportunities identified during domain analysis and design in the form of common requirements and design solutions, respectively. It facilitates the integration of those reusable assets into a particular application [ARC 96].
Effectiveness
the degree to which a system's features and capabilities meet the user's needs.
Efficiency
the degree to which a system or component performs its designated functions with minimum consumption of resources (CPU, Memory, I/O, Peripherals, Networks) [IEEE 90].
Error handling
the function of a computer system or component that identifies and responds to user or system errors to maintain normal or at the very least degraded operations.
Error proneness
the degree to which a system may allow the user to intentionally or unintentionally introduce errors into or misuse the system.
Error tolerance
the ability of a system or component to continue normal operation despite the presence of erroneous inputs [IEEE 90].
Evolvability
the ease with which a system or component can be modified to take advantage of new software or hardware technologies.
Expandability
see Extendability [IEEE 90].
Extendability
the ease with which a system or component can be modified to increase its storage or functional capacity [IEEE 90].
Fail safe
pertaining to a system or component that automatically places itself in a safe operating mode in the event of a failure [IEEE 90].
Fail soft
pertaining to a system or component that continues to provide partial operational capability in the event of certain failures [IEEE 90].
Fault tolerance
the ability of a system or component to continue normal operation despite the presence of hardware or software faults [IEEE 90].
Fault
an incorrect step, process, or data definition in a computer program [IEEE 90].
Fidelity
the degree of similarity between a model and the system properties being modeled [IEEE 90].
Flexibility
the ease with which a system or component can be modified for use in applications or environments other than those for which it was specifically designed [IEEE 90].
Functional scope
the range or scope to which a system component is capable of being applied.
Functional testing
testing that ignores the internal mechanism of a system or component and focuses solely on the outputs generated in response to selected inputs and execution conditions. Synonym: black-box testing [IEEE 90].
Generality
the degree to which a system or component performs a broad range of functions [IEEE 90].
Graphics
methods and techniques for converting data to or from graphic display via computers [McDaniel 94].
Hardware maintenance
the cost associated with the process of retaining a hardware system or component in, or restoring it to, a state in which it can perform its required functions.
Human Computer Interaction
a subfield within computer science concerned with the design, evaluation, and implementation of interactive computing systems for human use and with the study of major phenomena surrounding them [Toronto 95].
Human engineering
the extent to which a software product fulfills its purpose without wasting user's time and energy or degrading their morale [Boehm 78].
Implementation phase
the period of time in the software life cycle during which a software product is created from design documentation and debugged [IEEE 90].
Incompleteness
the degree to which all the parts of a software system or component are not present and each of its parts is not fully specified or developed.
Information Security
the concepts, techniques, technical measures, and administrative measures used to protect information assets from deliberate or inadvertent unauthorized acquisition, damage, disclosure, manipulation, modification, loss, or use [McDaniel 94].
Installation and checkout phase
the period of time in the software life cycle during which a software product is integrated into its operational environment and tested in this environment to ensure it performs as required [IEEE 90].
Integration testing
testing in which software components, hardware components, or both are combined and tested to evaluate the interaction between them [IEEE 90].
Integrity
the degree to which a system or component prevents unauthorized access to, or modification of, computer programs or data [IEEE 90].
Interface testing
testing conducted to evaluate whether systems or components pass data and control correctly to one another [IEEE 90].
Interfaces design
the activity concerned with the interfaces of the software system contained in the software requirements and software interface requirements documentation. Consolidates the interface descriptions into a single interface description of the software system [IEEE 91].
Interoperability
the ability of two or more systems or components to exchange information and to use the information that has been exchanged [IEEE 90].
ISO
International Organization for Standardization. A voluntary, non-treaty organization founded in 1946 which is responsible for creating international standards in many areas, including computers and communications. Its members are the national standards organizations of the 89 member countries, including ANSI for the U.S.
Latency
the length of time it takes to respond to an event [Barbacci 95].
Lifetime of operational capability
the total period of time in a system's life that it is operational and meeting the user's needs.
Maintainability
the ease with which a software system or component can be modified to correct faults, improve performance, or other attributes, or adapt to a changed environment [IEEE 90].
Maintenance control
the cost of planning and scheduling hardware preventive maintenance, and software maintenance and upgrades, managing the hardware and software baselines, and providing response for hardware corrective maintenance.
Maintenance measures
a category of quality measures that address how easily a system can be repaired or changed.
Maintenance personnel
the number of personnel needed to maintain all aspects of a computer system, including the support personnel and facilities needed to support that activity.
Managed device
any type of node residing on a network, such as a computer, printer or routers that contain a management agent.
Managed object
a characteristic of a managed device that can be monitored, modified or controlled.
Management agent
software that resides in a managed device that allows the device to be monitored and/or controlled by a network management application.
Manufacturing phase
the period of time in the software life cycle during which the basic version of a software product is adapted to a specified set of operational environments and is distributed to a customer base [IEEE 90].
Model
an approximation, representation, or idealization of selected aspects of the structure, behavior, operation, or other characteristics of a real-world process, concept, or system. Note: Models may have other models as components [IEEE 90].
Modifiability
the degree to which a system or component facilitates the incorporation of changes, once the nature of the desired change has been determined [Boehm 78].
Necessity of characteristics
the degree to which all of the necessary features and capabilities are present in the software system.
Need satisfaction measures
a category of quality measures that address how well a system meets the user's needs and requirements.
Network management
the execution of the set of functions required for controlling, planning, allocating, deploying, coordinating, and monitoring the resources of a computer network [ITS 96].
Network management application
application that provides the ability to monitor and control the network.
Network management information
information that is exchanged between the network management station(s) and the management agents that allows the monitoring and control of a managed device.
Network management protocol
protocol used by the network management station(s) and the management agent to exchange management information.
Network management station
system that hosts the network management application.
Openness
the degree to which a system or component complies with standards.
Operability
the ease of operating the software [Deutsch 88].
Operational testing
testing conducted to evaluate a system or component in its operational environment [IEEE 90].
Operations and maintenance phase
the period of time in the software life cycle during which a software product is employed in its operational environment, monitored for satisfactory performance, and modified as necessary to correct problems or to respond to changing requirements [IEEE 90].
Operations personnel
the number of personnel needed to operate all aspects of a computer system, including the support personnel and facilities needed to support that activity.
Operations system
the cost of environmentals, communication, licenses, expendables, and documentation maintenance for an operational system.
Organizational measures
a category of quality measures that address how costly a system is to operate and maintain.
Parallel computing
a computer system in which interconnected processors perform concurrent or simultaneous execution of two or more processes [McDaniel 94].
Perfective maintenance
software maintenance performed to improve the performance, maintainability, or other attributes of a computer program [IEEE 90].
Performance measures
a category of quality measures that address how well a system functions.
Performance testing
testing conducted to evaluate the compliance of a system or component with specified performance requirements [IEEE 90].
Portability
the ease with which a system or component can be transferred from one hardware or software environment to another [IEEE 90].
Productivity
the quality or state of being productive [Webster 87].
Protocol
a set of conventions that govern the interaction of processes, devices, and other components within a system [IEEE 90].
Provably correct
the ability to mathematically verify the correctness of a system or component.
Qualification phase
the period of time in the software life cycle during which it is determined whether a system or component is suitable for operational use.
Qualification testing
testing conducted to determine whether a system or component is suitable for operational use [IEEE 90].
Quality measure
a software feature or characteristic used to assess the quality of a system or component.
Readability
the degree to which a system's functions and those of its component statements can be easily discerned by reading the associated source code.