Building Quality in Legacy Systems - The Art of Asking Questions

Using Maslow's hierarchy of need as an analogy to define software quality, and to identify which questions to ask for each situation.

Mufrid Krilic

Jun 12, 2020 • 9 min read

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Quality Management

Quality Management System

Summary

The slides showcase how Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory can be adopted in software development to enhance the quality of a system. Just as people should satisfy the needs at the bottom (Physiological needs) and then up the pyramid till they self-actualize in Maslow’s theory, the same applies to a system to boost its quality. Developers should undergo some levels of tests while also asking the right questions at each stage prior to releasing the system to the users. Check the slides for more details about this approach and how to ask questions for specific situations.

Takeaways

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs analogy in software development strengthens the team's ability in decision-making by asking the right questions that apply to a specific situation.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory in psychology that can be adopted to define software quality by mirroring the theory's levels with perspectives of a system like functionality, usability, and deployment while also identifying the questions to ask for each perspective.