Making Quality Attributes First Class Entities

Computer systems are constructed to satisfy some business or mission goals. This simple, and one would think obvious, statement has profound consequences in terms of how one approaches the problem of designing the computer system. Business and mission goals are rarely expressed in terms of the purpose of the system but instead they are expressed in terms of qualities the system should have-the system should be fielded quickly, it should be secure, it should perform fast, it should be modifiable, etc. This talk will take a tour that begins with business goals, goes through specification of quality attributes, discusses how quality attributes are achieved while designing, and briefly describes design and evaluation methods that are quality attribute focused. The question for CSEET attendees is: "Where in your curriculum is this material covered?" Where are students taught about business goals, where are they taught about the relation between business goals and quality attributes, where are they taught about the relation between quality attributes and design principles?