Importance of Testing and Quality Assurance †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Importance of Testing and Quality Assurance. Answer: Introduction Headspace is an organization that is currently working on implementation of an information system named My Health Record System. The organization is considering a cloud-based solution for this project. The report discusses the necessity of implementing the system in a hybrid cloud environment along with the advantages and disadvantages of hybrid cloud. The report further identifies the primary non-functional requirements of the system keeping in mind the sensitive nature of data that is to be stored in the information system. The report concludes with the suggested SDLC approach that would be best suited for the project (Steele, Min Lo, 2012). The non-functional requirements of a system deals with particular system attributes that helps the system perform its optimal function. The non-functional requirements of the system generally identify the critical system qualities, requirements and system constraints that should be considered for project implementation. Therefore, it can be said that non-functional requirements of a system has a large impact on project success. However it is essential to consider both functional and non functional requirement of a system for ensuring project management success. The different non-functional requirement of the project according to the functionality, usability, reliability performance and security are elaborated in the following paragraphs (Chung, Nixon Mylopoulos, 2012). The main criteria of identifying the non-functional requirements of the system are measuring the functionality of the system. My health Record System is to be developed for storing the data of the mentally ill patients. Therefore, it is essential for the system to include an option of accessing and updating the data from any device according to the convenience of the user. Adaptability is one of the major functional requirements of the system. Another major criterion for identifying the non-functional requirement of the system is the systems usability. The major non-functional requirement under usability is the ease of learning the software. An easy interface can increase the usability of the software. The reliability of the system is another major consideration of system implementation. Since the system will be implemented in a cloud environment, a backup and recovery option of the data is an essential non-functional requirement of the system. This would not only make the system reliable but also help in preserving the confidential data of the patients even on an account of system failure. The non-functional requirement essential for measuring the performance of the system is its speed of processing data. The system should be flexible to be accessed from anywhere and any device. This would enhance the performance level of the system to be developed. The data to be stored in the My Health Record System is sensitive and confidential and therefore it is essential to ensure proper security of the software. The data stored should undergo end to end encryption to ensure adequate protection. This would prevent any unauthorized person from accessing the health records. Only the users permitted for data access would be able to view or modify the data stored into the system (Kulkarni et al., 2012). Functional Requirements of the System Vs Non-functional Requirements The functional requirement of the system estimates the expected function of the system that is to be implemented. It is typically related with the product or the system features that reflects the basic functionality of a system. Non-functional requirement however is slightly different from the functional requirements of the system; as it addresses the qualities, a system should possess in order to increase the efficiency of a system. The Non-functional requirement related to the security can be compared with a primary functional requirement of the system, which is authentication. Authentication is a primary security approach of the system that limits the use and access of the data only to authorized persons. Since the data to be stored is very sensitive, it is essential to include the non-functional requirement of encryption in system implementation (Pearce Bainbridge, 2014). Hybrid cloud is the best solution to be considered for the implementation of this sthi system in a cloud environment. This is because the public cloud environment is not secure enough and is more prone to attack. The data stored in a public cloud environment can be easily accessed and therefore, it would be difficult to protect the confidentiality of the sensitive data of the patients in this environment (AlZain et al., 2012). Although the cost of implementation of a public cloud is very low as compared to a private or a hybrid cloud environment, it cannot be considered for this case. Private cloud is very secured than public cloud and it is almost impossible to breach the data stored in a private cloud. This is because, a separate internal network is used in case of private cloud and the data access outside this network becomes almost impossible. This is the primary disadvantage of this solution as well. Implementation of this system on a private cloud would limit the access of data only to the organization, which conflicts with the primary objective of this project. The project aims at elimination of the need of retelling the story every time the patient visits a new professional. Implementations of this system in private cloud would not allow a wide data access and therefore this cloud environment cannot be considered. Hybrid cloud eliminates the limitation of both the public and private cloud environment and therefore this cloud environment can be considered for system implementation. Hybrid cloud environment is a combination of public and private cloud and allows the data access only to the authorized person even outside the organization (Galibus Vissia, 2015). The strength and weaknesses of hybrid cloud environment are elaborated in the following paragraphs. Hybrid Cloud Environment: Strength The strength of implementing the information system My Health Record System Management are listed below- The hybrid cloud environment offers the benefits of both public and private cloud. In this cloud environment, the streamlined benefits of both public and private cloud can be achieved (Li et al., 2015) It is a cost effective solution as well considering the money it requires to implement a system in a private cloud environment. This is because the public cloud environment of the hybrid cloud can be leveraged from a trusted third party source (Li et al., 2013). Data moves in an out of the public and the private one of a hybrid cloud solution. An attacker in fetching the confidential data of the system can target this movement of data. Therefore, there is a minute security risk in the movement of data in and out of the different cloud environment. Proper measures are needed to be taken to prevent the data loss. The cost of implementation of the system in a hybrid cloud environment is considerably more than that of a public cloud environment. However, considering the enhanced security it offers in the hybrid cloud, it is effective to use a hybrid cloud environment for this system (Chen Zhao, 2012). Therefore, it can be concluded that the use of a hybrid cloud environment can be beneficial for the organization in this project implementation The chosen SLC Approach SDLC or software development life cycle divides the entire software development lifetime into a number of phases, successful completion of which ensures a projects success. These phases are named as requirement analysis, feasibility study, project implantation , testing and so on. The two software development approach, predictive and adaptive are discussed in the following sections. The predictive approach of SDLC mainly defines the entire project life cycle during the project initiation. This is only possible when the scope of the project is clear and the schedule of the project is determined. The project deliverable is decided at the beginning of project implementation and therefore a proper project plan is maintained for project execution (Tuteja Dubey, 2012). The project implementation follows this project plan during the entire project life cycle. The pros and cons of the predictive software development life cycle approach are elaborated below. The scope of the project remains clear throughout the project execution and therefore the process of project execution becomes simple as well. A proper project plan is maintained for the project execution, which is followed throughout the implementation phase of the project. The project requirements remain transparent throughout the project execution phase and therefore it becomes easier to estimate the cost and schedule of the project. Another major advantage of implementing this approach is that, it is possible to complete the project within the set time following this approach. The project progress and the process of implementation can be thoroughly tracked throughout the entire project life cycle as it follows a planned approach. Documentation control is one of the essential criteria of this approach as the predictive SDLC is very similar to the waterfall model of the project methodology. Pros or Disadvantages of Predictive SDLC The adaptive approach of SDLC is similar to the agile project development methodology. The entire project is not planned during the project intitiation but the different deliverables of each phase is ascertained. This type of approach is taken into consideration when the scope of the project is not clear. The pros and cons of adaptive SDLC are discussed below (Balaji Murugaiyan, 2012). The project can be improvised in its execution phase as well The presence of feedback path increases the perfctness of the sytem to be developed. The time requires to complete this time of project is generally high The cost of implementation of project using adaptive SDLC is high Therefore, it would be beneficial for Headspace to implement this project using predictive SDLC as the size of the project is small (Mahalakshmi Sundararajan, 2013). Conclusion Therefore, from the above discussion it can be concluded that Headspace should use hybrid cloud environment for product implementation. The report identifies the recommended SDLC approach and the non-functional requirements that should be considered in the project. References AlZain, M. A., Pardede, E., Soh, B., Thom, J. A. (2012, January). Cloud computing security: from single to multi-clouds. In System Science (HICSS), 2012 45th Hawaii International Conference on (pp. 5490-5499). IEEE. Balaji, S., Murugaiyan, M. S. (2012). Waterfall vs. V-Model vs. Agile: A comparative study on SDLC. International Journal of Information Technology and Business Management, 2(1), 26-30. 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A research study on importance of testing and quality assurance in software development life cycle (SDLC) models. International Journal of Soft Computing and Engineering (IJSCE), 2(3), 251-257