This should be the first thing that executive leadership does to address the concern of quality issues in their software products, as it helps to identify and understand the underlying factors and causes that led to the quality problems1. A root cause analysis is a systematic process of investigating a problem or incident by asking a series of questions, such as why, how, what, where, and when, until the root cause or causes are found1. By requiring a root cause analysis and reviewing the results, executive leadership can gain insight into the nature and extent of the quality issues, as well as their impact on the market reputation and customer satisfaction ratings. They can also use the results to devise and implement corrective and preventive actions to resolve the quality issues and prevent them from recurring1.
The other options are not as important or effective as requiring a root cause analysis and reviewing the results, as they are either specific solutions or outcomes of the root cause analysis, but not comprehensive steps. Allocating budget to hire more software and quality assurance specialists may help to improve the software development and testing process, but it may not address the root cause or causes of the quality issues, which could be related to other factors, such as requirements, design, tools, methods, or culture2. Implementing a software development life cycle (SDLC) framework may help to standardize and optimize the software development process, but it may not address the root cause or causes of the quality issues, which could be related to other factors, such as communication, collaboration, feedback, or training3. Mandating more robust software testing prior to release may help to detect and fix more defects before launching the software products, but it may not address the root cause or causes of the quality issues, which could be related to other factors, such as scope creep, change management, or quality assurance