Framework for software quality in Kenya

Abstract

Most of the software products used in Kenya today often seem to have been developed abroad and marketed locally. The few products that bear the local market names have often been received with suspicion as lacking in quality. Many simple projects undertaken by many Kenyan firms like Banks and manufacturing firms often contract software suppliers from abroad. The Kenyan government does not have a clear policy on how to measure the level of quality in software products. The only body that regulates quality in the country, the Kenya Bureau Of Standards (KBS) does not include software development in its set of procedures. Though recently, we have seen the creation of the IEEE Charter in software development, not much is documented on its operations. This pilot study set out to find the different types of software products developed locally in Kenya, the type of approaches used to develop them, how they measure quality in their products and the standards used to achieve these levels of quality. Through this pilot study, it was realized that the major problem affecting software development in Kenya is the lack of a systematic approach to software development and ways of assessing the level of quality in these products. This indicated that there was need for a software process framework to help improve the level of quality by setting standards. By considering a number of frameworks as discussed in the literature review, it was possible for the researcher to recommend a quality framework that will be used by software developers in Kenya. This framework can be adapted by Kenya Bureau of Standards (KBS) so that all software developers as well as buyers can have a standard acceptance criteria of the products they develop 'Orreceive.