What quality attributes do developers care about?

Exploring Google's Theory of Software Quality: Lessons from a Software Engineer's Perspective

Key insight 

Google's research on a theory of quality matches up with my views on building quality into processes and products. Specifically, process quality aligns with my view that building quality into how teams work can improve product quality. However, the theory differs in that they break down product quality into three distinct areas: code, system and product, bringing a more nuanced view of product quality. 

Top three takeaways

1. Researchers found that Developers think about several quality attributes when they think about quality. These are defect rates, reliability, maintainability, testability, complexity, comprehensibility and readability. 

2. Researchers then developed a theory of (software) quality by grouping the attributes into four distinct categories: Process quality, Code quality, System quality and Product quality, each influencing the next.  

3. The research found two valuable insights: 1] Developers when tasked with improving quality, are more likely to focus on proc…