A Tool for Building Software Quality
Models
In
the last years, some methods have been proposed for dealing with COTS
component
selection. In all of them, a key point is the comparison of the user
requirements that drive the selection process with the capabilities of
the
evaluated COTS components. Quality models are a means to obtain
exhaustive and
structured descriptions of COTS domains. Once built, COTS components in
the domain may
be evaluated with respect to the quality factors included therein,
quality
requirements may be stated with respect to the quality model, and the
classical
factor-requirement negotiation process may be used yielding to the
selection of
the most appropriate COTS.
In this paper we
present the QM tool used
to support our IQMC method [1, 2] for the construction of quality
models for
COTS domains. This tool also supports the organization of quality
models in a
taxonomy of COTS domains [3] for supporting the reuse of these models.
As
an alternative to the development of QM we
analysed four tools that are representative of the types of tools that
could be used for our purposes:
miniSQUID, a tool for defining metrics and quality factors; OPAL, a
tool for
supporting a COTS selection process; eCOTS, a Web portal for sharing
massive
information about COTS domains and components; and IRqA, a classical
requirements management tool. None of them is adequate enough for
supporting
the specificities of IQMC method and taxonomy management.