An ISO 9001 certificate endorsed with the TickIT logo proves that your management system is compliant with best practice for software quality management.
The TickIT scheme covers the assessment and certification of an organisation's software quality management system to ISO 9001. In fact, it neither adds nor subtracts any formal assessment requirements from 9001 but does require specially qualified auditors supported by detailed guidance on how to interpret 9001 in the software context.
Managing quality in the software industry
The scheme is applicable to software developers, software maintainers and providers of software services. An important purpose of TickIT is to stimulate organisations to think about what quality means in the context of software development, and how it may be achieved so their processes can become more effective and efficient.
The TickIT initiative was launched in 1991 after a report was published by the British Department of Trade and Industry. The report showed there was a strong reluctance among software producers to adopt ISO 9001, because they felt it to be too general and that made it hard to interpret for the software industry. As a result of this the British Computer Society (BCS) lead the intiative to create a detailed method for organisation, rules, and procedures for a 9001 scheme applicable to the software sector. The scheme is now global in reach working under national accreditation arrangements.
A software industry guide to quality management
The goals of the scheme are to:
Improve market confidence in third party certification of software quality management systems
Ensure there is authoritative guidance material for all stakeholders
Establish solid professional competence amongst quality auditors in the software sector
The TickIT Guide book, currently at version 5.5, provides an overview of the entire scheme as well as specific guidance for customers, suppliers and auditors. It draws heavily on established standards such as ISO/IEC 12207 and ISO/IEC 15504 for detailed guidance on software processes.
TickIT auditors are specially trained and subject to professional vetting by an indepedent registration body to ensure the highest competence levels are achieved. Overall the scheme is fully aligned and harmonised with ISO 9001:2000. This results in an emphasis on continual improvement of software quality by the effective use of a Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle.
Where do I go from here?
For third party certification, you need to implement an effective software quality management system complying with the requirements of the standard. The first step is to get on the road to certification.
