SOFTWARE QUALITY CRITICIZED AT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 23, 2004
CONTACT:Entinex

11/23/04, Jerusalem.   The quality assurance industry was harshly criticized at a conference here last week for not keeping pace with advances in software technology.  At the 15th International Conference of the Israel Society for Quality, Hillel Glazer, Principal & CEO of Entinex, a Silver Spring-based provider of technology strategy consulting services, laid-out an indictment of software quality assurance (SQA) for being out of step with the "information age".

"SQA practices must be implemented so that they are corporate assets not liabilities," he said.  In his paper and presentation titled, "Process Discipline in the Information Age: Rethink the Quality Abstraction", Glazer points out that quality assurance has failed because it failed to add business value to the software development process.  "The all-too-common SQA approach is counter-productive to the development process which is as demoralizing to developers as it is costly to the company."

Glazer stated that the quality assurance industry is at least a decade behind software developers in both tools and methods.  He warned that QA must get on board with these advances.  Noting that traditional QA and Cold-War era development were both based on manufacturing -- a basis that fails to effectively reflect how software is developed -- he constructed an argument for the need for change or else risk being further sidelined by valid business productivity needs.  Promoting what he called "Agile QA", Glazer suggested QA processes integrated into and in parallel with development practices instead of "a layer super-imposed onto the flow of development".  His paper demonstrated how these would "add relevance and value to the QA activities" and would "support business goals".

Suffering from the effects of news stories about the regional violence, this year’s biennial conference was nonetheless attended by over 600 Quality Assurance professionals from all industries and at least nine countries, reflecting an upturn from the 2000 and 2002 conferences.  The conference enjoyed a period of regional calm following the passing of PLO chairman Yassir Arafat a week earlier in Paris.

Also speaking and attending the conference was Dr. John Bacon, lead engineer for systems integration for NASA’s International Space Station, who spoke of the February 2002 Space Shuttle "Columbia" tragedy as well as other topics.  Israel’s first astronaut, IAF Colonel Elan Ramon, was killed along with the entire crew of Columbia when it broke apart on re-entry to Earth’s atmosphere minutes before it was scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.  The mostly Israeli audience was visibly moved when Dr. Bacon showed photos and movies of Col. Ramon during training sessions and aboard the Shuttle prior to and during his historic mission into space.

By coincidence, during his presentation later in the conference, Mr. Glazer, pointed to a picture of a pilot in his fighter-jet cockpit and stated, "the primary point of QA is to make sure that guy gets home in one piece.  If QA isn’t adding value to making that happen it’s a waste of time and you shouldn’t be doing it!  Either QA becomes part of the solution to productively deliver what the customer wants, when they want it at the price they expect to pay, or get out of the way!"

About Entinex, Inc.
Branded as the technology strategy company, Entinex, Inc. is a technologically unbiased and objective consulting firm offering strategic advice to small, medium and non-profit businesses.  Established in 2001, Entinex’s capabilities draw on over 16 years of experience in engineering, consulting, developing, deploying, and implementing technology.  Entinex looks at technology as an integral part of any company’s business plan, whether the company is developing technology for sale, or uses technology to further its goals.  Entinex is centrally located between Baltimore and Washington with easy access throughout the region and has experience and served clients throughout the B/W region, out-of-state and internationally.
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