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ISO (International Organization for Standardization)

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a global body that develops and publishes voluntary international standards. These standards serve as a shared blueprint for businesses and industries worldwide, providing a common set of best practices to ensure that products, services, and systems are safe, reliable, and of high quality. For software development, ISO provides a critical framework for defining and evaluating a product's quality.

For software, one of the most widely used standards is ISO/IEC 25010, which defines a comprehensive model for software quality. It breaks down the concept of quality into eight key characteristics, helping teams systematically assess their products:

  • Functional Suitability: Does the software meet its stated requirements and specifications?
  • Performance Efficiency: How well does the system perform in terms of speed and resource usage?
  • Compatibility: Can the software coexist and interact with other systems?
  • Usability: Is it intuitive and easy for users to learn and operate?
  • Reliability: Is the software stable and capable of maintaining a consistent level of performance over time?
  • Security: Is the system protected from unauthorized access and data breaches?
  • Maintainability: How easily can the software be modified, debugged, and updated?
  • Portability: Can the software be easily transferred or installed in a new environment?

Example: A company is building a new enterprise payroll system and wants to ensure it's a high-quality product. They would use the ISO/IEC 25010 standard as a checklist. The quality assurance team might evaluate the system's reliability by performing stress tests to see if it can handle thousands of simultaneous transactions without crashing. They would also assess its security by conducting penetration tests on the login portal to ensure it protects sensitive employee data. By following this standard, the company can be confident that their product meets a globally recognized benchmark for quality.