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Software Architecture Guide

ISO/IEC 25010 Quality Models and Their Target Entities

Explanation

Section titled “Explanation”

A quality model is a list of quality characteristics. Each list is built for one kind of thing, called its target. Using a list built for another target gives misleading answers.

Product quality model (ISO/IEC 25010:2023). Its target is an ICT product that is part of an information system. The 2023 model has nine characteristics. Interaction Capability is one of them. The model also reaches the components of such a product. These include software, firmware, hardware, data and communication infrastructure. So you can apply it to hardware and communication parts when they belong to the product. The articles “ISO/IEC 25010 Product Quality Model” and “ISO/IEC 25010:2023 Product Quality Model Revision” cover the characteristics.

Data quality model (ISO/IEC 25012). This is a separate model. Its target is data. It has 15 characteristics. It is the basis for assessing the quality of data products.

IT service quality (ISO/IEC TS 25011). This applies to IT services. These services support the needs of an individual user or a business.

A simple rule: first name what you evaluate. Is it a product, its data, or a service? Then choose the matching model.

Example

Section titled “Example”

A team builds an online booking app. They check the app against the product quality model, for example its interaction capability. They run a separate check on the customer records using the data quality model. The company also offers a support service around the app. They judge that service with the IT service quality standard. Each check uses the model built for its target.

Trade-offs

Section titled “Trade-offs”

Several models mean more to learn and more to document. A single list would be simpler, but it would mix up different targets. The verified facts do not say how the models are combined in practice, so a team must decide for itself which targets matter in its system.

Choosing a quality model by target

Diagram source 
flowchart LR
  A[What do you evaluate?] --> B[ICT product]
  A --> C[Data]
  A --> D[IT service]
  B --> E[Product quality model - ISO/IEC 25010]
  C --> F[Data quality model - ISO/IEC 25012]
  D --> G[IT service quality - ISO/IEC TS 25011]

Checks

Section titled “Checks”
  • The document states which target (ICT product, data, or IT service) each quality model is applied to.
  • Data quality is assessed with a data quality model, separate from the product quality model.
  • Hardware and communication components are covered by the product quality model only as components of the product.
Section titled “Related”

Sources

Section titled “Sources”