Freedom from those conditions that can cause death, injury, occupational illness, or damage to or loss of equipment or property, or damage to the environment

A term applied to a condition, event, operation. process or item of whose proper recognition, control, performance or tolerance is essential to safe system operation or use; e.g., safety critical function, safety critical path, safety critical component

Those computer software components and units whose errors can result in a potential hazard, or loss of predictability or control of a system

A subset of a population used to represent the population in statistical analysis. Samples are almost always random, which means that all individuals in the population are equally likely to be chosen for the sample / Or / One or more observations drawn from a larger collection of observations or universe (population)

Control chart in which the standard deviation of the subgroup is tracked to determine the variation within a process over time. Sample standard deviation charts are usually paired with average charts for complete analysis

Is used to interpret data by graphically displaying the relationship between two variables / Or / show the pattern of relationship between to variables that are thought to be related. For example is their a relationship between out side temperature and cases of the common cold? As temperatures drop, do colds increase. The closer the points hug a diagonal line the more closely there is a one to one relationship / Or / a graphical technique to analyze the relationship between two variables. Two sets of data are plotted on a graph, with the y axis being used for the variable to be predicted and the x axis being used for the variable to make the prediction. The graph will show possible relationships (although two variables might appear to be related, they might not be: those who know most about the variables must make that evaluation). The scatter diagram is one of the seven tools of quality / Or / Charts which allow the study of correlation, e.g., the relationship between two variables

A tool that studies the possible relationship between two variables expressed on the x-axis and y-axis of a graph. The direction and density of the points plotted will indicate various relationships or a lack of any relationship between the variables

Quality improvement tools that include the histogram, Pareto chart, check sheet, control chart, cause-and-effect diagram, flowchart, and scatter diagram / Or / tools that help organizations understand their processes in order to improve them. The tools are the cause-and-effect diagram, check sheet, control chart, flowchart, histogram, Pareto chart, and scatter diagram (see individual entries)

Referred to as the father of statistical quality control because he brought together the discipline of statistics, engineering, and economics. He described the basic principles of this new discipline in his book Economic Control of Quality of Manufactured Product. Shewhart, ASQ’s first Honorary member, was best known for creating the control chart. Shewhart worked for Western Electric and AT&T Bell Telephone Laboratories in addition to lecturing and consulting on quality control

An unintended alteration of a program's behavior caused by a change in ore part of the program, without taking into account the effect the change has on another part of the program. See: regression analysis and testing

Is a statistical unit of measure which reflects process capability. The sigma scale of measure is perfectly correlated to such characteristics as defects per unit, parts per million defective, and the probability of a failure/error

Product and process characteristics designated by the customer, including governmental regulatory and safety, and/or selected by the supplier through knowledge of the product and process

A software V&V task to simulate critical tasks of the software or system environment to analyze logical or performance characteristics that would not be practical to analyze manually

A device, computer program, or system that behaves or operates like a given system when provided a set of controlled inputs. Contrast with emulator. A simulator provides inputs or responses that resemble anticipated process parameters. Its function is to present data to the system at known speeds and in a proper format

A way of simultaneously designing products, and the processes for manufacturing those products, through the use of cross functional teams to assure manufacturability and to reduce cycle time

A term used generally to indicate that a process is well-controlled, i.e., ±6 sigma from the centerline in a control chart. The term is usually associated with Motorola, which named one of its key operational initiatives Six Sigma Quality

Statistical Process Control The application of statistical methods to analyze data, study and monitor process capability and performance. Use of control charts to monitor process performance

The cause(s) of variation in a process which have a source that is identified, and can be eventually eliminated. [Same as assignable cause] / Or / Causes of variation in a process that are not inherent in the process itself but originate from circumstances that are out of the ordinary. Special causes are indicated by points that fall outside the limits of a control chart

Test data based on input values that are likely to require special handling by the program. See: error guessing; testing. special case

A document that specifies, in a complete, precise, verifiable manner, the requirements, design, behavior, or other characteristics of a system or component, and often, the procedures for determining whether these provisions have been satisfied. Contrast with requirement. See: specification, formal; specification, requirements; specification, functional; specification, performance; specification, interface; specification, design; coding standards; design standards

Evaluation of each safety-critical software requirement with respect to a list of qualities such as completeness, correctness, consistency, testability. robustness, integrity, reliability, usability, flexibility, maintainability, portability, interoperability, accuracy, audibility, performance. internal instrumentation, security and training

A specification that documents the interface requirements for a system or system component. Often part of a requirements specification. Contrast with requirement

A specification that documents the requirements of a system or system component. It typically includes functional requirements. performance requirements, interface requirements, design requirements [attributes and constraints], development [coding] standards, etc Contrast with requirement

A specification that documents how a system is to be built. It typically includes system or component structure, algorithms, control logic, data structures, data set [file] use information, input/output formats, interface descriptions, etc Contrast with design standards, requirement. See: software design description

(1) A specification written and approved in accordance with established standards. (2) A specification expressed in a requirements specification language. Contrast with requirement

A specification that documents the functional requirements for a system or system component. It describes what the system or component is to do rather than how it is to be built. Often part of a requirements specification. Contrast with requirement

A visual reporting tool for the performance of a number of indicators. Also known as a "radar chart" this tool makes visible the gaps between the current and desired performance

A model of the software development process in which the constituent activities, typically requirements analysis, preliminary and detailed design. coding, integration, and testing, are performed iteratively until the software is complete Syn: evolutionary model, Contrast with incremental development; rapid prototyping; waterfall model

Statistical Quality Control: The application of statistical techniques to measure variation in materials, parts, components, and products. The process of maintaining acceptable levels of product quality by using statistical techniques

A process from which all special causes of variation have been eliminated and only common causes remain / Or / A process which is free of assignable causes, e.g., in statistical control

Written procedures [prescribing and describing the steps to be taken in normal and defined conditions] which are necessary to assure control of production and processes

A diagram that depicts the states that a system or component can assume, and shows the events or circumstances that cause or result from a change from one state to another. Syn: state graph. See: state-transition table

(1) (NBS) Analysis of a program that is performed without executing the program. (2) (IEEE) The process of evaluating a system or component based on its form, structure, content, documentation. Contrast with dynamic analysis. See: code audit, code inspection, code review, code walk-through, design review, symbolic execution

A quantitative condition which describes a process that is free of assignable/special causes of variation, e.g., variation in the central tendency and variance. Such a condition is most often evidenced on a control chart, i.e., a control chart which displays an absence of nonrandom variation / Or / Is the condition of a process from which all special causes of variation have been eliminated and only common causes remain. Statistical control is evidenced on ,a control chart by the absence of points beyond the control limits and by the absence of any non random patterns or trends

(SPC) Analysis and control of a process through the use of statistical techniques, particularly control charts / Or / the application of statistical techniques to control a process. Often the term statistical quality control is used interchangeably with statistical process control

Analysis and control of quality through the use of statistical techniques, focus is on the  product not the process

A structured software design technique; data and processing steps are defined broadly at first, and then further defined with increasing detail

A contract vehicle sponsored by the Department of Defense. The contract provides business process reengineering support services focused on the higher order strategic and management assessment functions. Reengineering services include fully qualified BPR experts with functional knowledge in all aspects of process engineering, state of the art analytical tools and time tested methodologies for comprehensive process improvement