Η Ποιότητα Λογισμικού αποτελεί σήμερα ένα πολύ σημαντικό και ενδιαφέρον κεφάλαιο στην Επιστήμη των Υπολογιστών. Με το πέρασμα του χρόνου, καθώς επίσης και με την εξέλιξη της τεχνολογίας η ανάγκη για την εξασφάλιση της ποιότητας σε πρώτο στάδιο, και ακολούθως η ανάγκη για σωστή αξιολόγηση και επιτυχή διασφάλιση της ποιότητας λογισμικού γίνονται όλο και μεγαλύτερες και αποτελούν βασικότατες επιδιώξεις επιχειρήσεων, οργανισμών και προγραμματιστών. Ο όρος Ποιότητας Λογισμικού μπορεί να αποκτήσει πολλές διαστάσεις και ερμηνείες, αναλόγως τις επιδιώξεις, τους στόχους και τις ανάγκες του κάθε χρήστη. Η διπλωματική αυτή επικεντρώνεται στην ανάλυση της αξιολόγησης και της διασφάλισης της ποιότητας λογισμικού, παρουσιάζοντας τρόπους και μοντέλα, με τη βοήθεια των οποίων είναι εφικτή η αποτελεσματική αξιολόγηση και διασφάλιση της ποιότητας. Στο πρώτο κεφάλαιο αναλύονται οι όροι «αξιολόγηση» και «διασφάλιση» της ποιότητας λογισμικού και παρουσιάζονται οι απαιτήσεις στα πλαίσια του ελέγχου και της εξασφάλισης της ποιότητας ενός έργου. Επιπροσθέτως, παρουσιάζεται η σπουδαιότητα της αξιοπιστίας και της αξιολόγησης λογισμικού, αναλύεται η διαδικασία της επαλήθευσης και επικύρωσης κατά το σχεδιασμό λογισμικού και περιγράφεται η διαδικασία ελέγχου. Στο δεύτερο κεφάλαιο, παρουσιάζονται τα υπάρχοντα μοντέλα αξιολόγησης λογισμικού που είναι τα περισσότερο δημοφιλή και γνωρίζουν ευρεία εφαρμογή. Αναλύεται ο όρος «μετρική», παρουσιάζονται οι συχνές τάσεις στην Τεχνολογία Λογισμικού, τα χαρακτηριστικά των αντικειμενοστρεφών μετρικών της Τεχνολογίας Λογισμικού, ενώ τέλος περιγράφεται η Διαδικασία της Εξασφάλισης Ποιότητας. Στο τρίτο κεφάλαιο παρουσιάζεται το Διεθνές Πρότυπο ISO/IEC 9126, το οποίο κατέχει δεσπόζουσα θέση ανάμεσα στα άλλα Πρότυπα Ποιότητας, παρουσιάζει μεγάλο ενδιαφέρον και είναι από τα δημοφιλέστερα. Περιγράφονται τα χαρακτηριστικά του Προτύπου ISO/IEC 9126 και οι βασικές του λειτουργίες. Στο τέταρτο κεφάλαιο παρουσιάζεται η συνοπτική περιγραφή και η λεπτομερής αξιολόγηση του Διεθνούς Πρότυπου ISO/IEC 9126, παρουσιάζονται τα τμήματα τα οποία το απαρτίζουν, ακολουθεί μία επισκόπηση πειράματος και γίνεται ανάλυση των αποτελεσμάτων που προκύπτουν ύστερα από χρήση του προτύπου αυτού. Ακόμη, γίνεται αναφορά στα μειονεκτήματα του μοντέλου και στα προβλήματα που προκύπτουν από τη χρήση του, ενώ παρατίθεται και η προσωπική μου εκτίμηση όσον αφορά το Πρότυπο αυτό. Στο πέμπτο κεφάλαιο γίνεται παρουσίαση της Αναλυτικής Διεργασίας Ιεραρχίας και της Πολυκριτήριας Ανάλυσης. Περιγράφεται η διαδικασία της επέκτασης του Διεθνούς Πρότυπου ISO/IEC 9126 για την ανάπτυξη ενός γενικευμένου μοντέλου ποιότητας η οποία λαμβάνει χώρα με την εφαρμογή της Πολυκριτήριας Ανάλυσης και αποσκοπεί σε περισσότερο βελτιωμένη αξιολόγηση και καλύτερη διασφάλιση της Ποιότητας Λογισμικού. Ακολουθεί η ανάλυση του μοντέλου της Αναλυτικής Διεργασίας Ιεραρχίας, η λειτουργία του μοντέλου αυτού και η επεξήγηση του. Στο έκτο και τελευταίο κεφάλαιο παρουσιάζεται ένα προτεινόμενο από εμένα μοντέλο το οποίο έρχεται να αντισταθμίσει τα μειονεκτήματα που προσφέρουν τα παραπάνω μοντέλα, συνδυάζοντας τα πλεονεκτήματα τους. Περιγράφεται σε πρώτη φάση ο σημαντικός ρόλος του λήπτη αποφάσεων ,ο οποίος είναι καθοριστικός για την παραμετροποίηση του μοντέλου, αναλύονται τα πλεονεκτήματα των προηγούμενων μοντέλων τα οποία συνδυάζονται στο μοντέλο αυτό για την αντιστάθμιση των μειονεκτημάτων και περιγράφονται τα χαρακτηριστικά του προτεινόμενου μοντέλου αξιολόγησης της Ποιότητας Λογισμικού. Τέλος, ακολουθεί ένα παράδειγμα εφαρμογής του μοντέλου σε κώδικα λογισμικού και σχολιασμός των αποτελεσμάτων που προκύπτουν από την εφαρμογή του μοντέλου αυτού, συγκριτικά με τα αποτελέσματα που προκύπτουν από την εφαρμογή του Προτύπου ISO/IEC 9126. / The quality of Software constitutes a very important and interesting capital in the Science of Computers today. With the passage of time, as well as with the development of technology, the need for the guarantee of quality in the very first stage, and accordingly the need for a correct evaluation and a successful guarantee of quality of software become always bigger and constitute the most basic objectives of enterprises, organisms and programmers. The term Quality of Software can acquire a lot of dimensions and interpretations, depending on the objectives, the goals and the needs of each user. This dissertation, focused on the analysis of evaluation and the guarantee of quality of software, presents ways and models, with the help of which the effective evaluation and guarantee of quality are feasible. In the first chapter the terms “evaluation” and “guarantee of” quality of software are analyzed and the requirements concerning the control and guarantee of quality of work are presented. Besides, the importance of reliability and the evaluation of software are presented and the process of verification and ratification at the planning of software are analyzed and described in terms of the process of control. In the second chapter, the existing models of evaluation of software that are the most popular and know wide application are presented. The term “metric” is analyzed and the frequent tendencies in the Technology of Software are presented. Furthermore, the characteristics of object-oriented metrics of Technology of Software are described, along with the Process of Guarantee of Quality. In the third chapter the International Model ISO/IEC 9126 is presented. The International Model ISO/IEC 9126 possesses dominating position between the other Models of Quality, presenting big interest and is among the most popular Models of Quality. In addition, the characteristics of Model ISO/IEC 9126 and its basic operations are described. In the fourth chapter the concise description and the detailed evaluation of International Model ISO/IEC 9126 are presented, along with its component. Moreover, a review of experiment is described thoroughly and the results of the experiment are analysed and evaluated. Finally, the disadvantages of model as well as the problems that result from its use are reported, while also my personal estimation and opinion concerning the Model is stated. In the fifth chapter the process of Analytic Activity of Hierarchy is presented. Also, the process of the extension of the International Model ISO/IEC 9126 for the growth of a generalised model of quality with the use of Analytic Activity of Hierarchy is described. This generalised model aims at a more improved evaluation and better guarantee of Quality of Software. Finally, the analysis of the model of Analytic Activity of Hierarchy, its function and its functionality follow. In the sixth and last chapter, a proposed model is presented which compensates for the disadvantages of the previous models, providing all the stated advantages of the previous models. Firstly, the important role of the maker of decisions, which is decisive for the parametrization of model, is mentioned. The advantages of the previous models which are also provided by the proposed model are described and in addition, the characteristics of the proposed model concerning the evaluation of the Quality of Software are explained. Finally, a comparison of the results that stem from the application of model in a software product and the results that stem from the application of the Model ISO/IEC 9126 in the same software product are reported.

Als Reaktion auf die Verbreitung von globalen privaten Lebensmittelstandards gehen einige Entwicklungsländer mit der Gründung eigener nationaler Food Standards einen Weg, um sich in wichtigen Exportländern zu positionieren. Allerdings wirken negative Herkunftsimages dem Aufbau von Glaubwürdigkeit und Anerkennung bei wichtigen internationalen Akteuren entgegen. Diese Studie untersucht die Wirkung von Herkunftsland-Effekten auf die wahrgenommene Glaubwürdigkeit der nationalen Lebensmittelstandards und beurteilt die Benchmarking-Strategien, wie sie von GLOBALG.A.P. und der Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) angeboten werden. Die Daten von 301 Lebensmittel-Managern aus Industrie- und Entwicklungsländern wurden durch eine Online-Befragung im Frühjahr 2010 erhoben. Die Befragten wurden gebeten, verschiedene Aspekte der Glaubwürdigkeit von Standards generell zu beurteilen sowie die Glaubwürdigkeit der Food Standards von acht Ländern spezifisch zu bewerten: Australien, China, Ghana, Indien, Italien, Mexiko, dem Vereinigten Königreich und den Vereinigten Staaten. Durch eine Faktorenanalyse und eine lineare Regression wird ein empirisches Modell zur Glaubwürdigkeit von Lebensmittelstandards analysiert. Im Ergebnis zeigt sich, dass "Benchmarking-Signale" erheblich dazu beitragen können, die Glaubwürdigkeit von Lebensmittelstandards in entwickelten Ländern und in Entwicklungsländern zu verbessern.

Lifelong learning became a must skill in Europe and all over the World that are affected by rapid social, technological and economical changes in nowadays. Qualitative training and learning process is influenced by many factors that should be carefully examined during the curriculum design phases, as well as during the learning/ teaching process. Distance learning and teaching is the efficient means to implement strategic aims of the system of education: to create learning possibilities for all society members, to contribute to designing effective learning/ teaching process, as well as to ensure more flexile organization of learning activities. While new distance learning/ teaching forms are getting more and more popular, they should be reviewed regularly applying a consistent quality evaluation methodology based on quality criteria and indicators, and distance learning/ teaching curriculum quality should be examined before each learning/ teaching process. There are some examples of quality assessment methodology prepared for distance learning/ teaching curriculum assessment in Lithuania on practical level allowing assessing distance learning/ teaching curriculum quality before accreditation procedure, however, such factors as analysis of other existing resources for realisation of curriculum online, effectiveness of chosen curriculum design and factors, influencing learning/ teaching process having the current design options, are not assessed at all. Quality assessment... [to full text] / Sparčių socialinių, technologinių ir ekonominių pokyčių veikiamoje Europoje mokymasis visą gyvenimą tapo būtinybe. Nuotolinis mokymas(-is) (NM) puikiai sprendžia strateginių švietimo sistemos siekių įgyvendinimą, sukuriant mokymosi galimybes ir efektyvesnį mokymo(-si) procesą, užtikrinant lankstesnį mokymo(-si) veiklos organizavimą. Naujai atsirandančioms NM formoms turi būti taikoma kokybės kriterijų bei rodiklių sistema, o NM turinio kokybė turi būti įvertinama prieš kiekvieną mokymo(-si) organizavimą. Lietuvoje parengtos NM turinio kokybės vertinimo metodikos leidžia įvertinti jo kokybę prieš jo akreditaciją, tačiau pasirinktų NM turinio realizavimo formų ir NM turinio projektavimo strategijos efektyvumas ir poveikis mokymo(-si) organizavimo procesui lieka neįvertinti. Mokymo(-si) turinio kokybės vertinimo proceso metu neužtikrinama konstruktyvaus mokymo(-si) samprata, nes nėra įvertinama, ar NM turinys leis mokymo(-si) organizatoriams savarankiškai veikti individualiose, nenumatytose situacijose mokymo(-si) organizavimo metu. Tačiau kokybės vertinimo metodika negali būti parengta kol nėra nustatyti ir apibendrinti veiksniai, įtakojantys NM turinio kokybę Disertacijoje projektuojamas NM turinio kokybės reflektyvus vertinimo modelis sujungia NM turinio projektavimo ir mokymo(-si) organizavimo procesus. Tyrime nagrinėjamos NM turinio projektavimo teorijos, identifikuojamos turinio kokybės vertinimo dimensijos, operacionalizuojami kokybės vertinimo veiksniai, kurių... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Sparčių socialinių, technologinių ir ekonominių pokyčių veikiamoje Europoje mokymasis visą gyvenimą tapo būtinybe. Nuotolinis mokymas(-is) (NM) puikiai sprendžia strateginių švietimo sistemos siekių įgyvendinimą, sukuriant mokymosi galimybes ir efektyvesn�� mokymo(-si) procesą, užtikrinant lankstesnį mokymo(-si) veiklos organizavimą. Naujai atsirandančioms NM formoms turi būti taikoma kokybės kriterijų bei rodiklių sistema, o NM turinio kokybė turi būti įvertinama prieš kiekvieną mokymo(-si) organizavimą. Lietuvoje parengtos NM turinio kokybės vertinimo metodikos leidžia įvertinti jo kokybę prieš jo akreditaciją, tačiau pasirinktų NM turinio realizavimo formų ir NM turinio projektavimo strategijos efektyvumas ir poveikis mokymo(-si) organizavimo procesui lieka neįvertinti. Mokymo(-si) turinio kokybės vertinimo proceso metu neužtikrinama konstruktyvaus mokymo(-si) samprata, nes nėra įvertinama, ar NM turinys leis mokymo(-si) organizatoriams savarankiškai veikti individualiose, nenumatytose situacijose mokymo(-si) organizavimo metu. Tačiau kokybės vertinimo metodika negali būti parengta kol nėra nustatyti ir apibendrinti veiksniai, įtakojantys NM turinio kokybę Disertacijoje projektuojamas NM turinio kokybės reflektyvus vertinimo modelis sujungia NM turinio projektavimo ir mokymo(-si) organizavimo procesus. Tyrime nagrinėjamos NM turinio projektavimo teorijos, identifikuojamos turinio kokybės vertinimo dimensijos, operacionalizuojami kokybės vertinimo veiksniai, kurių... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Lifelong learning became a must skill in Europe and all over the World that are affected by rapid social, technological and economical changes in nowadays. Qualitative training and learning process is influenced by many factors that should be carefully examined during the curriculum design phases, as well as during the learning/ teaching process. Distance learning and teaching is the efficient means to implement strategic aims of the system of education: to create learning possibilities for all society members, to contribute to designing effective learning/ teaching process, as well as to ensure more flexile organization of learning activities. While new distance learning/ teaching forms are getting more and more popular, they should be reviewed regularly applying a consistent quality evaluation methodology based on quality criteria and indicators, and distance learning/ teaching curriculum quality should be examined before each learning/ teaching process. There are some examples of quality assessment methodology prepared for distance learning/ teaching curriculum assessment in Lithuania on practical level allowing assessing distance learning/ teaching curriculum quality before accreditation procedure, however, such factors as analysis of other existing resources for realisation of curriculum online, effectiveness of chosen curriculum design and factors, influencing learning/ teaching process having the current design options, are not assessed at all. Quality assessment... [to full text]

In this study, the criteria for quality assessment and problems of open source (OS) product quality assurance, based on these criteria, are discussed. Broad use of open source products both in personal and business environment prove sufficient quality, despite of absence of traditional quality assurance methods for these products. There is no mature model for OS product quality evaluation - only various experimental models are applied (for example, OS project statistics criteria evaluation). OS product quality is also managed in unconventional methods, related to OS specific software development procedures (for example, volunteer control). A generalized method for OS product quality evaluation, derived from a combination of various metrics, is proposed.

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The aim of this study was to determine the views of the Transkei College of Education (TCE) lecturers concerning the principles that should guide a quality assurance (QA) policy of the academic programme of the institution. To address this, five sub-questions were raised, dealing with respondents' perceptions on: generic or specific skills; involvement in drafting teacher education outcomes; the criteria for outcomes' assessment; programme monitoring and the handling of the results of the monitoring process. This case study, was conducted at TCE, in Umtata. Data were gathered by using a self-administered questionnaire distributed to all college lecturers, resulting in a (64%) return rate. Participating lecturers' responses revealed that they preferred that the teacher education programme contained both generic and specific skills/outcomes; that such outcomes be developed by stakeholders, the most important of which should be mastery of subject matter to be taught. The respondents' regarded the establishment of a committee to oversee the self-evaluation process as the most important criteria to be used in the process of self evaluation, while senior members of staff take on the responsibility of monitoring self-evaluation processes. The respondents felt that the results of self-evaluation should be used to improve and develop the programme. Overall, the respondents exhibited a good understanding of the principles that should guide the development of both the college's educational outcomes and a QA system for the college. The respondents also showed alacrity of thought regarding the important elements in the development of criteria and outcomes for the programme offered at the college, as well as for the assessment and monitoring of the programme to ensure quality. The study therefore, recommends that practical steps be put in place for the review of the educational outcomes of the college - which of necessity will entail maximum stakeholder participation - both from within the college and outside. Furthermore, it is also evident from the results of this study that the college is ready for a quality assurance system for its academic programme. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.

"We fail more often not because we fail to solve the problem we face but because we fail to face the right problem." (Russell L. Ackoff) Although centralisation of support functions causes initial cost savings, benefits may not improve unless there is continuous enhancement of product offerings and service quality. Commonly tension arises between the shared services centre and the business units, and this is exacerbated when business units do not understand the level of service they receive, or the service centres do not understand the level of quality they offer. This ultimately leads to confusion, lowered morale and loss of workers. Six Sigma is a business strategy and a systematic methodology, use of which leads to breakthrough in profitability through quantum gains in product / service quality, customer satisfaction and productivity. The concept of implementing Six Sigma was pioneered at Motorola in the 1980's and the objective was to reduce the number of defects to as few as 3.4 parts per million opportunities. For effective implementation of Six Sigma projects in organisations, one must understand the critical success factors that will make the application successful. This dissertation attempts to understand the underlying principles of Six Sigma and its applicability to the Gauteng Shared Services Centre, in order to achieve quantum gains in service quality, customer satisfaction and productivity. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2006.

The American Association of Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) require the use of the statistically based quality assurance (QA) specifications for construction materials. As a result, many of the state highway agencies (SHAs) have implemented the use of a QA specification for highway construction. For these statistically based QA specifications, quality characteristics of most construction materials are assumed normally distributed, however, the normality assumption can be violated in several forms. Distribution of data can be skewed, kurtosis induced, or bimodal. If the process shows evidence of a significant departure from normality, then the quality measures calculated may be erroneous. In this research study, an extended QA data analysis model is proposed which will significantly improve the Type I error and power of the F-test and t-test, and remove bias estimates of Percent within Limit (PWL) based pay factor calculation. For the F-test, three alternative tests are proposed when sampling distribution is non-normal. These are: 1) Levene’s test; 2) Brown and Forsythe’s test; and 3) O’Brien’s test. One alternative method is proposed for the t-test, which is the non-parametric Wilcoxon - Mann – Whitney Sign Rank test. For PWL based pay factor calculation when lot data suffer non-normality, three schemes were investigated, which are: 1) simple transformation methods, 2) The Clements method, and 3) Modified Box-Cox transformation using “Golden Section Search” method. The Monte Carlo simulation study revealed that both Levene’s test and Brown and Forsythe’s test are robust alternative tests of variances when underlying sample population distribution is non-normal. Between the t-test and Wilcoxon test, the t-test was found significantly robust even when sample population distribution was severely non-normal. Among the data transformation for PWL based pay factor, the modified Box-Cox transformation using the golden section search method was found to be the most effective in minimizing or removing pay bias. Field QA data was analyzed to validate the model and a Microsoft® Excel macro based software is developed, which can adjust any pay consequences due to non-normality.

Bakgrund: Immobilisering är en vedertagen omvårdnadsåtgärd inom dagens prehospitala traumavård, detta trots att det inte finns några randomiserade kontrollerade studier angående åtgärden. Många studier har dock visat att riskerna med immobilisering är många varför det är viktigt att undersöka omvårdnadshandlingen närmare. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka förekomsten av radiologiskt fastställda spinala skador hos patienter som immobiliserats prehospitalt efter trauman, samt på vilka indikationer denna immobilisering gjordes. Metod: En kvantitativ retrospektiv studie där 288 journaler granskades i ambulansens journalsystem MobiMed 3.0 och i sjukhusets journalsystem Cosmic. Därefter analyserades resultaten i SPSS deskriptivt och grafiskt, med chi2-test samt med oberoende t-test. Resultat: Resultatet visade att av de 246 patienter som genomgått en radiologisk undersökning fanns en konstaterad spinal skada hos 48 patienter, vilket motsvarade cirka 17 %. Alla inkluderade patienter hade varit utsatta för trubbigt våld och den vanligaste indikationen för immobilisering var smärta/ömhet över kotpelaren. Medelåldern hos patienterna med spinala skador var signifikant högre än medelåldern hos de utan spinala skador och en signifikant skillnad fanns mellan patienterna med spinal skada och utan spinal skada och samtidig smärta/ömhet över kotpelaren. Slutsats: Ett större antal patienter uppvisade skador i denna studie jämfört med tidigare studier, hos den stora majoriteten fanns dock inga spinala skador. Detta innebär att patienterna utsätts för en potentiellt onödig omvårdnadsåtgärd som är svagt vetenskapligt underbyggd och medför ett flertal risker. Fler studier inom området behövs för att kunna minska patienters potentiella lidande i och med att immobiliseras prehospitalt. / Background: Spinal immobilization is an established practice in today’s prehospital trauma care. This even though there is a lack of randomized controlled studies regarding this practice. Many studies points to the risks regarding spinal immobilization why it is of importance to further examine the practice. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of radiologically confirmed spinal injuries in patients immobilized after prehospital trauma and on what indications this immobilization was done Method: A quantitative retrospective study of 288 medical records acquired from the ambulance medical record system Mobimed 3.0 and the hospital's medical record Cosmic were examined. The results were analyzed in SPSS descriptive and graphic, with chi2-test and independent t-test. Result: The results show that of the 246 patients who underwent a radiological examination, 46 had a spinal injury, approximately 17 %. All of the included patients had been exposed to blunt trauma and the most common indication for immobilization was pain/tenderness over the spine. The mean age of the patients with spinal injuries was significantly higher than the mean age of those without spinal injuries. A significant difference was also found between patients with pain/tenderness over the spine and spinal injury and those without spinal injury. Conclusion: A greater number of patients had a spinal injury in this study compared with previous studies, although the majority of the patients had no spinal injury. This means that the majority of the patients were exposed to a potentially unnecessary procedure that lacks scientifically evidence. More studies about immobilization are required to reduce the patients' potential suffering in connection with prehospital immobilization.