MSQE Quality System Model

Metadata

Field	Value
Diagram title	MSQE Quality System Model
Related chapter	Chapter 1 — What Is Modern Software Quality Engineering?
Part	Part I — Foundations of Modern Software Quality Engineering
MQE-BOK domain	Domain 1 — Foundations of Modern Software Quality Engineering
Diagram type	Conceptual flow
Skill level	Foundation
Model status	Original MSQE teaching aid; not an industry standard
Version	0.1.0
Status	Draft
Author	MSQE Project
Last updated	2026-08-08

Purpose

Show that quality is engineered across a socio-technical system rather than inspected into a completed product. The model connects stakeholder needs and risk to the people, processes, product, platform, production evidence, and learning that shape a quality outcome.

Learning Objectives

After studying this diagram, the reader should be able to:

identify the system areas that shape software quality; and
explain how production evidence improves earlier engineering decisions.

Diagram Source

This Mermaid representation preserves the MSQE Quality System Model established in Chapter 1.

Diagram

flowchart TB
    Needs[Stakeholder needs and risk]
    People[People: skills, ownership, culture]
    Process[Process: discovery, delivery, learning]
    Product[Product: requirements, architecture, code, data]
    Platform[Platform: environments, pipelines, dependencies]
    Production[Production: telemetry, support, incidents]
    Evidence[Evidence and continuous improvement]

    Needs --> People
    Needs --> Process
    Needs --> Product
    People --> Process
    Process --> Product
    Product --> Platform
    Platform --> Production
    Production --> Evidence
    Evidence -. informs .-> People
    Evidence -. informs .-> Process
    Evidence -. informs .-> Product
    Evidence -. informs .-> Platform

Textual Interpretation and Accessibility

Read from the top down first: stakeholder needs and risk influence people, process, and product decisions; the product is delivered through a platform and produces production evidence. Then read the dotted arrows back upward: evidence informs changes to people, process, product, and platform. The arrows describe connected influence, not a one-way project sequence.

Component Description

Component	Contribution to quality
People	Apply expertise, make ownership and trade-offs explicit, and learn together.
Process	Creates timely opportunities for discovery, delivery, feedback, and improvement.
Product	Encodes requirements, architecture, code, and data decisions.
Platform	Supplies the environments, pipelines, and dependencies through which the product operates.
Production	Reveals customer impact and system behaviour under real conditions.

Chapter 3 — Understanding Software Quality
Chapter 4 — Quality Throughout the Software Development Lifecycle
Chapter 5 — Shift Left, Shift Right & Shift Everywhere

Diagram Review Checklist

Purpose and source are clear.
Labels do not rely on colour to convey meaning.
The Mermaid source provides an accessible textual representation.