Johannesburg, 11 Jul 2008
Open source software (OSS) is software that has been developed, tested or improved through public collaboration and distributed on the understanding that the results will be shared with others, thus ensuring an open future collaboration between corporations, public and academic institutions and individuals.
OSS originally began as a marketing campaign for free software back in the 1980s but was changed in the late 1990s in order to be 'commercially acceptable' and the basis on which a licence could be attached, with the objective of making a product more understandable, modifiable, duplicatable, reliable or simply accessible, while still making it a marketable commodity.
Today most major organisations worldwide are running OSS to a greater or lesser extent and thus the open source market is growing rapidly. However, the quality of open source solutions has become a burning issue and one of today's core decision-making elements for any new application/project.
The maturity level of software quality assurance (SQA) is the characteristic that distinguishes the success rate of open source implementations. There are many open source software testing tools; however, the raising of the maturity levels of SQA needs to encompass expert skills, tools and techniques, as well as streamlined business processes. Thus, a strategy for quality assuring open source software must include all these three pillars, namely, people, processes and technologies.
Increasing the maturity of SQA should enable organisations to fully benefit from open source software as verification of its quality is half of the battle won. SQA maturity elevation must consistently deliver reduced defects in both live and production environments by increasing efficiencies in software development.
The simplest solution to elevate SQA maturity is one that which can be easily customised to an organisation's environment. The lack of expert customisation can leave organisations feeling as though their investment in quality assurance is futile. The one model fits all methodology is a recipe for disaster, since each organisation is unique in its culture, technology and disciplines and thus requires a customised strategy for the quality assurance of their open source solutions.
The basic element to ensure that SQA maturity is elevated to the appropriate level is to ensure that accountability for SQA is maintained in-house, but nevertheless, it is vital that the responsibility, whether in-house or outsourced, includes the necessary level of expertise. SQA is a specialist skill within systems development and positive results cannot be achieved through poorly skilled resources, lack of specialist techniques, tools and disciplines and the crucial lack of customised quality assurance processes.
The SQA Maturity Model (SQAMM), which has been developed by STS, is a unique framework that encompasses people, processes and technology and can be customised to any organisation. It enables organisations to maximise their return on investment in IT and to confidently release applications to their clients.
For a detailed breakdown of the various levels, visit www.sqamaturitymodel.com.
Whether systems are being verified for robustness, performance or security, these verification processes require appropriate tools, technical skill and customisation. Technical skills may be available in-house but need to be harnessed properly and appropriately to deliver the desired results.
For further information, please contact Sadiyya Nosarka: tel 0861 787-777, fax 086 515-8264, e-mail info@testingsolutions.co.za.
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