Standards

ISO 9000 and all that

BS EN ISO 9000 series

Ensures you have a documented quality system, but does not check the quality of your products

A company may be certified or registered for its procedures. The products are not checked, approved or certified under ISO 9000

Registration covers the entire activities of an organisation and this will give assurance to customers that all the processes of an organisation are being addressed.

"Tick It" is specifically designed for IT companies wishing to register under the ISO 9000 series

Over 63,725 companies registered in the UK. Over 220,000 companies throughout Europe (2000)

(See my other notes on ISO9000)

ISO 9126 Software Quality Characteristics

ISO 9000 merely ensures an organisation has a quality system in place. It does not check the quality of the software product

Another relevant standard is ISO 9126

It sets out six main characteristics of good quality software, and lists sub-characteristics for each of them

Functionality (what it does)
Reliability
Usability
Efficiency (the resources required)
Maintainability (how easy to change)
Portability (how easy to transfer to another environment)