Development of a measure to assess the quality of user-developed applications

For several years now, software quality has been a major concern for those involved in the area of software engineering, and researchers as well as practitioners of the domain have proposed instruments to measure it. Application quality is also a concern for researchers and managers involved in the area of end-user computing. However, since end-user computing research is in a much earlier stage than research in software engineering, relatively few efforts have been made to assess the quality of user-developed applications. Building on earlier work in software engineering and in end-user computing, this study developed and assessed a measure of user-developed applications quality. The quality construct comprises eight dimensions: reliability, effectiveness, portability, economy, user-friendliness, understandability, verifiability, and maintainability. In turn, each quality dimension is composed of a set of criteria. Finally, each criterion is measured by a series of items. The instrument was tested by means of a survey involving 110 end-users. Confirmatory factor analysis, using the partial least squares technique, was conducted. The results indicate that the 56-items instrument is reliable and valid, and that it may be a useful tool for researchers and for practitioners alike.

[1]  R. Ryan Nelson,et al.  Educational Needs as Perceived by IS and End-User Personnel: A Survey of Knowledge and Skill Requirements , 1991, MIS Q..

[2]  R. Brownlie.  Winning the paper chase , 1999 .

[3]  Joseph P. Cavano,et al.  A framework for the measurement of software quality , 1978 .

[4]  J. Varni,et al.  The PedsQL: measurement model for the pediatric quality of life inventory. , 1999, Medical care.

[5]  Herman Wold,et al.  Soft modelling: The Basic Design and Some Extensions , 1982 .

[6]  B. Farbey.  Software quality metrics: considerations about requirements and requirement specifications , 1990 .

[7]  Stephen J. Andriole,et al.  Software validation, verification, testing, and documentation , 1986 .

[8]  Stephen J. Andriole.  Software Validation, Verification, Testing and Documentation: A Source Book , 1986 .

[9]  Janice C. Sipior,et al.  Definitional distinctions and implications for managing end user computing , 1989, Inf. Manag..

[10]  Donald L. Amoroso,et al.  Quality end user-developed applications: some essential ingredients , 1992, DATB.

[11]  Karuna Chanana,et al.  Issues in Women's Education , 1989 .

[12]  Barry Boehm,et al.  Characteristics of software quality , 1978 .

[13]  Suzanne Rivard,et al.  Factors of success for end-user computing , 1988, CACM.

[14]  B Blaker,et al.  QUALITY ASSURANCE THROUGH VERIFICATION , 1985 .

[15]  Ron S. Kenett,et al.  A Framework for Software Quality , 1999 .

[16]  Chin-Kuei Cho,et al.  An introduction to software quality control , 1980 .

[17]  Lowell Jay Arthur,et al.  Measuring Programmer Productivity and Software Quality , 1985 .

[18]  F. Bookstein,et al.  Two Structural Equation Models: LISREL and PLS Applied to Consumer Exit-Voice Theory: , 1982 .

[19]  Suzanne Rivard,et al.  An empirical study of users as application developers , 1985, Inf. Manag..

[20]  Pierre N. Robillard,et al.  Profiling software through the use of metrics , 1991, Softw. Pract. Exp..

[21]  Mary Sumner.  User-Developed Applications: What Are They Doing? , 1986 .

[22]  Wilpen L. Gorr,et al.  Key Information Systems Management Issues for the Public Sector , 1991, MIS Q..

[23]  Suzanne Rivard,et al.  Measuring the quality of user-developed applications , 1991, Proceedings of the Twenty-Fourth Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

[24]  John H. Grant,et al.  Construct Measurement in Organizational Strategy Research: A Critique and Proposal , 1986 .

[25]  Fred Niederman,et al.  Information Systems Management Issues for the 1990s , 1991, MIS Q..

[26]  A. Veevers,et al.  Role of non-stochastic-based metrics in quantification of software reliability , 1990 .

[27]  Eliot R. Smith,et al.  Research methods in social relations , 1962 .

[28]  J. E. Sammet,et al.  Software psychology: human factors in computer and information systems , 1983, SGCH.

[29]  D. Larcker,et al.  STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELS WITH UNOBSERVABLE VARIABLES AND MEASUREMENT ERROR , 1981 .

[30]  Moshé M. Zloof.  Design Aspects of the Query-by-Example Data Base Management Language , 1978, JCDKB.

[31]  V Grech,et al.  Declining mortality from congenital heart disease related to innovations in diagnosis and treatment: a population-based study , 1999, Cardiology in the Young.

[32]  K. Jöreskog,et al.  A General Method of Estimating the Reliability of a Composite , 1978 .

[33]  François Bergeron,et al.  Assessment of End-User Computing from an Organizational Perspective , 1993 .

[34]  C. Fornell,et al.  Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. , 1981 .

[35]  Richard P. Bagozzi,et al.  A Holistic Methodology for Modeling Consumer Response to Innovation , 1983, Oper. Res..

[36]  Ben Shneiderman,et al.  Software psychology: Human factors in computer and information systems (Winthrop computer systems series) , 1980 .

[37]  Ephraim R. McLean.  End Users as Application Developers , 1979, MIS Q..

[38]  William J. Doll,et al.  The Measurement of End-User Computing Satisfaction , 1988, MIS Q..

[39]  Gilbert A. Churchill.  A Paradigm for Developing Better Measures of Marketing Constructs , 1979 .

[40]  R. Bagozzi.  An Examination Of The Validity Of Two Models Of Attitude. , 1981, Multivariate behavioral research.