The maturity of an organization is measured by its capability to deliver quality
products and services consistently to its customers. Achieving consistent quality
is especially challenging in a software environment, where quality is difficult
to define, measure, and control. The International Standards Organization's ISO
9000 standards and the Software Engineering Institute's (SEI) Capability Maturity
Model (CMMI) provide frameworks for implementation of well-defined and managed
software engineering processes. Kyvia assists IT teams with consulting services
in software improvement processes. Kyvia has invested in developing expert resources
to chart value-added process improvement methodologies for our customers. As part
of our quality consulting assignments, we perform a gap analysis and recommend
a quality system that can help you achieve targeted quality levels in your organization's
software development processes.
In order to provide a comprehensive roadmap and solution, we follow a phased approach:
- Assess: Evaluate the current software development lifecycle models, onsite-offshore
activity distribution, current testing strategy and process, testing challenges,
and application environments and interdependencies. This information is the basis
for any gap analysis. For instance, many organizations today are employing full-file
testing. This creates large storage requirements and associated costs. The goal
of this phase is to document an agreed understanding of the status quo.
- Define/Plan: Produce a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic,
Tangible) testing process improvement roadmap and define the parameters for measuring
success. In a multi-site development environment with applications that cut across
business units, we might recommend a central database, visible to all parties,
containing all issues and enhancement implementation schedules.
- Implement: Execute the solution roadmap, including testing processes,
tools introduction, and team/role changes.
- Measure: Periodically measure (audit) and refine the process to ensure
ongoing success and to identify areas for further improvement.
