Journal profile · Computer Science, Software Engineering
Software Quality Journal
ISSN 0963-9314 · eISSN 1573-1367 · Springer US · NETHERLANDS · Quarterly · Founded 1992
Software Quality Journal: CAS Zone 4 · Computer Science (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.36; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,290; median 207 days to acceptance (57 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 34 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Software Quality Journal is published by Springer US and is in Zone 4 of Computer Science in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Software Engineering Research, Software Reliability and Analysis Research and Software Engineering Techniques and Practices, together about 54.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Information Systems and Software. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The aims of the Software Quality Journal are: (1) To promote awareness of the crucial role of quality management in the effective construction of the software systems developed, used, and/or maintained by organizations in pursuit of their business objectives.(2) To provide a forum of the exchange of experiences and information on software quality management and the methods, tools and products used to measure and achieve it.(3) To provide a vehicle for the publication of academic papers related to all aspects of software quality. The Journal addresses all aspects of software quality from both a practical and an academic viewpoint. It invites contributions from practitioners and academics, as well as national and international policy and standard making bodies, and sets out to be the definitive international reference source for such information. The Journal will accept research, technique, case study, survey and tutorial submissions that address quality-related issues including, but not limited to: internal and external quality standards, management of quality within organizations, technical aspects of quality, quality aspects for product vendors, software measurement and metrics, software testing and other quality assurance techniques, total quality management and cultural aspects. Other technical issues with regard to software quality, including: data management, formal methods, safety critical applications, and CASE.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Computer Science, Software Engineering
Editor-in-chief Phuong NguyenPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Italy 11, United Kingdom 5, United States 4, Canada 4, Germany 2 (38 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Software Engineering ResearchComputer Science24%
- Software Reliability and Analysis ResearchComputer Science16.3%
- Software Engineering Techniques and PracticesComputer Science13.8%
- Software Testing and Debugging TechniquesComputer Science12%
- Software System Performance and ReliabilityComputer Science7.5%
- Advanced Software Engineering MethodologiesComputer Science6.1%
- Advanced Malware Detection TechniquesComputer Science2.6%
- Service-Oriented Architecture and Web ServicesComputer Science2.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Computer Science Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Software Engineering | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Computer Science Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Software Engineering | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Computer Science Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Software Engineering | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexINSPECDBLPPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, ACM Digital Library, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.36LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.4Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.46LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.9LetPub ·
- h-index
- 37LetPub ·
- h-index
- 66OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 511OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.57OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 29.51%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 34LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 176,700Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,122 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 49 | 20 | 5 |
| 2025 | 34 | 11 | 73 |
| 2024 | 46 | 16 | 253 |
| 2023 | 46 | 21 | 448 |
| 2022 | 34 | 16 | 399 |
| 2021 | 42 | 20 | 586 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
207 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 133 days – 280 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 21 days (88 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 241 days
- Sample
- 57 articles with submission and acceptance dates (89 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- over 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 12 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,290 / EUR 2,690 / GBP 2,390 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | No APC | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Open calls for papers2, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare6 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Reference style
- APA
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Not considered
- systematic mapping papers; systematic literature reviews
Article types accepted4
- editorialOriginal Paper, Editorial This journal does not review or accept systematic mapping papers and systematic literature reviews. Back to topLength not stated
- literature reviewOriginal Paper, Editorial This journal does not review or accept systematic mapping papers and systematic literature reviews. Back to topLength not stated
- original paperOriginal Paper, Editorial This journal does not review or accept systematic mapping papers and systematic literature reviews. Back to topLength not stated
- reviewOriginal Paper, Editorial This journal does not review or accept systematic mapping papers and systematic literature reviews. Back to topLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Generative AI Images
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship principles
These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to. Authorship clarified The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosures and declarations
All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate). The decision whether such …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability statements
All original research must include a data availability statement. This statement should explain how to access data supporting the results and analysis in the article, including links/citations to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. Please see our full policy here. If it is not possible to share research data publicly, for instance when individual privacy could be com…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Software Quality Journal, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Single-blind peer review
This journal follows a single-blind reviewing procedure. This journal also publishes special/guest-edited issues. The peer review process for these articles is the same as the peer review process of the journal in general. Additionally, if a guest editor authors an article in their issue/collection, they will not handle the peer review process.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Springer US
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1992
- ISSN
- 0963-9314
- Electronic ISSN
- 1573-1367
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Software Quality Journal
What CAS zone is Software Quality Journal in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Software Quality Journal is in Zone 4 of Computer Science, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Computer Science, Software Engineering. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Computer Science. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Software Quality Journal?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.36; CiteScore 5.4, h-index 66.
How long does peer review take at Software Quality Journal?
Based on the dates recorded on 57 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 207 days (interquartile range 133–280 days); authors report an average review time of over 12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Software Quality Journal?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Reference style: APA; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Software Quality Journal based?
Of the 38 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Italy (11), United Kingdom (5) and United States (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Software Quality Journal?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Software Quality Journal is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists EI Compendex, INSPEC and DBLP; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Software Quality Journal open access, and what is the APC?
Software Quality Journal is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,290.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .