本文起源于EIA计算机资源研讨会的软件质量小组研讨会。该小组最初专注于不可交付软件的需求。人们认为，国防部的标准很好地涵盖了可交付软件的要求，但没有充分涵盖不可交付软件的问题。经过多次讨论，包括试图通过软件类型的例子来定义不可交付性，参与者得出了一个令人惊讶的一致结论。也就是说，“可交付”和“不可交付”的状态对软件的质量没有影响，因此也对应用于该软件的质量保证要求没有影响。 相反，质量保证的唯一合理应用主要取决于软件对最终产品（即最终任务）的影响。

This paper originated with a software quality panel workshop at the EIA Computer Resources Workshop. The panel group initially focused on requirements for nondeliverable software. It was felt that the requirements for deliverable software were well covered by Department of Defense standards but non-deliverable software issues were not adequately covered. After much discussion, including attempts to define nondeliverable by examples of software types, a surprising unanimous conclusion was reached by the participants. That is: the states of "deliverable" and "non-deliverable" had no bearing on the quality of the software, and thereby also had no bearing on the quality assurance requirements that should be applied for that software. Rather, the only rational application of quality assurance was primarily dependent on the impact that the software had, or could have, on the end product (i.e. the ultimate mission).