How do ISO standards work (particularly ISO 9126)

Question

I'm taking a course in software project management and right now I'm writting a "quality plan"... We've discussed ISOs in class, and I would particularly like my fake company to say the project complies with ISO norm 9126.

The thing is I don't really know what that means. Is it just something you say to your client, does your company need to be affiliated under some international organization for standard compliance, do you have to have your project audited? How does it work?

By the way, if you have any tips on what I can say I'll do to guarantee project quality, just tell me.

Edit I know what ISO 9126 is, what I don't know is who's is responsibly to certify you, how do auditory works, or if auditory is at all necessary (if the project is small does it suffices to show the client you met the goals you talked about when applying ISO 9126?)

Answer 1

Wiki much? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_9126

Not sure but that looks to be a wealth of knowledge there on what you are asking.

ISO 9126 is an international standard for the evaluation of software quality. The fundamental objective of this standard is to address some of the well known human biases that can adversely affect the delivery and perception of a software development project. These biases include changing priorities after the start of a project or not having any clear definitions of "success". By clarifying, then agreeing on the project priorities and subsequently converting abstract priorities (compliance) to measurable values (output data can be validated against schema X with zero intervention), ISO 9126 tries to develop a common understanding of the project's objectives and goals.

The standard is divided into four parts:

1. quality model
2. external metrics
3. internal metrics
4. quality in use metrics.

Answer 2

ISO qualification is all about making sure your company does everything in it's power to ensure a quality product. Quality is a broad term, but in actuality, what an auditor usually looks for to see if your company is ready to be ISO certified, is that mechanisms are in place to guarantee that a product does does what you designed it to do, and that you have verified that before your product leaves the door.

These mechanisms can be all sorts of things... but really start with a design plan (a list of WHAT your product will do), and a test procedure/list (to see if your final product/output does what the design plan says the product will do when it is complete). A lot of companies have things in place between these two steps, but the input/output steps are most critical.

Does your shipped product do what you designed it to do?

An auditor has to come in to certify you. There are various companies that do this. You can not simply say you are "ISO 9xxx certified". The auditor will give you a certificate. There are different types of ISO certification. And even after the certification, you get re-audited to keep your certification. The goal being that your product and the processes that guarantee its quality improve over time.