Abstract

This article presents the application of a mixed method research in software engineering, developing an innovative quality model for web components. The research applies the qualitative analysis of open surveys in order to determine a set of internal/static and external/dynamic metrics of an empirical quality model. Subsequently, Delphi Method quantitatively analyses, by consensus amongst the members of a panel of experts, the level of coverage that these metrics offer of the product quality and quality in use characteristics included in standard ISO/IEC 25,000. Aiming a better understanding of the industry, the method applies to the software quality domain of web components developed in open repositories, where the fragmentation in the development processes has led to organic quality models of an implicit and collaborative nature. As a result of the research, a mixed methods methodology, exploratory sequential design, has been obtained that allows not only the assessment of web components hosted on public repositories, but also the systematisation of the coverage analysis amongst characteristics and metrics, essential for the development of software quality models in heterogeneous development environments.