Posted by TimP on Thu Sep 10 5:08:48 1998
| Distribution: | paneris@i-way.co.uk | lurker@paneris.co.uk |
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The combination of the Bazaar methodology with
automated quality assuance seems to me to be unbeatable.As you know I am very keen on ISO9000-3 registration and
would be interested in any thoughts you have on obtaining
it.To get to this point I think we need to achieve the following:
1) Get the Bazaar methodology working
2) Get the automated quality assurance working.
3) Get audited by an approved body.Get the Bazaar methodology working
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We have not yet got a formal mechanism in place for
testing software and recording the test results.
Similarly for code review.To test our products we need as many people as possible,
on as many platforms as possible, to visit a site and record
problems and what platforms used.For code reviews things get a bit trickier.
Code Reviews have a number of functions.
They are intended to give the customer and ISO an warm feeling,
but their real import is education and cohesion.If the Paneris methodology is to be scalable and we are to take on
big jobs for large amounts of money then the 'cottage industry'
standards of most web developers must be overcome.Some jobs will not require the full weight of QA, so our QA system must be
scalable to the job, however there are jobs, which we want,
where the code must be maintainable by people other than the original author.
This is traditionally achieved by having a 'house style' enforced by reviews
and a little automated style checking.I have written a program called comment.pl which enables all scripts on
Paneris to be annotated (that is what the source link is for :)Finally, of course, the major problem with our Bazaar at the moment is that
very few people are prepared to use the Message Boards for emails.
Whilst the solution is to install HyperNews on Dircon in the meantime
I encourage their use for all Paneris discussion and for all significant
project related traffic, but in reality we are not able to
discipline ourselves so as to obtain a complete record, let alone our customers.
Get the automated quality assurance working.
============================================Well, we have got very little of this.
As I understand it QA is about ticking boxes.
People don't like doing it, especially if they are not allowed to continue until a
box has been ticked.What we have got is a document version control mechanism which
enables documents to be modified, or overwitten, with old versions (up to a maximum of 40)
to be stored.We also have an HTML style enforcer (/system/utils/indent.pl) which checks HTML quality,
but no recording of it having been run.I have started to write a similar script for perl scripts.
(I would like to see online modification of perl scripts, but feel
too scared of the security implications. )We should have a mechanism by which scripts/programs can be
held at the project node, either with their QA data held inside them or in a separate
file held at the node, with an automated make-like
issuing process which records the issue date.The main trick with QA is a Quality Plan, which is a MUST for
every project.
The Quality Plan can mearly say that there will be no quality checks for this project,
however that must be stated explicitly.Get audited by an approved body.
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QMS (Quality Management Services) don't seem to have a web presence, and they are the only
body I have heard of.Anyway, thats enough.
yours
TimP