Systematic process improvement using ISO 9001:2000 and CMMI

258 Appraisal/Registration
8.3 TickIT
In the early 1990s, many software organizations realized that registration
to ISO 9001 would require detailed guidance for implementing ISO requirements
and ISO registrars who understood software. As described in Chapter
7, ISO 9000-3 [13] was developed to help interpret the ISO 9001:1994
standard for software applications. The TickIT program [14] was created by
the British Standards Institution (BSI) to provide a method for registering
software development systems based on the ISO 9000-3 standard. TickIT
does not add any new requirements to ISO 9001:2000—it simply interprets
those requirements. ISO 9000-3 is not used for registration but with TickIT,
BSI made it possible to use ISO 9000-3 for certification purposes. Although
this certification is not equivalent to ISO registration; a successful audit by
a TickIT-accredited auditor results in the award of a certificate of compliance
to ISO 9001:2000, endorsed with a TickIT logo. Certification is conducted
by independent external QA agencies, using qualified TickIT auditors who
have been specially trained and subjected to rigorous professional vetting.
The International Register of Certified Auditors, with the support of the
British Computer Society, administers this process.
TickIT has a very wide scope of application and can be used, for example,
for the following products:
• Software as the delivered product;
• Embedded software, including the development of programmable
hardware devices;
• Shrink-wrapped software;
• In-house software development when software affects the quality of
the delivered product or service, including internal applications such
as payroll;
• Computer operations services;
• Subcontracting.
An important aspect of TickIT development was in stimulating interest
in software quality and providing a framework for managing software development
and process improvement. The TickIT guide underwent several revisions
to accommodate revisions of the ISO 9001 standard. The structure of
the current version, Issue 5, shown in Figure 8.5, relates directly to the
requirements set forth in ISO 9001:2000. Part E provides clause-by-clause
guidelines for software development. Because a new revision of ISO 9000-3