How the use of the STePS method can improve software quality and aid project management

The authors outline the problems associated with software production and details how the STePS method can alleviate them. They provide an overview of STePS as a method for developing systems beyond the logical design stage into detailed program design and implementation. This method operates on the products of a systems design method to identify the programs in a system. It then uses well-established design techniques to develop the specification for the software components that will comprise these programs. The need for comprehensive program specifications to facilitate the design/implementation interface is explained and the contents of the different forms of STePS specifications are outlined. The beneficial effects which the use of STePS can have in the areas of quality assurance, control, project management, and configuration management are presented