Since its inception, West has focused strongly on the quality of the software products it supplies. In addition to the fact that we select our employees on the basis of their affinity with this subject and we constantly strive to improve awareness and development, we also have a number of models and techniques in place to improve the level of quality we deliver. After all, software development requires a reliable approach.
CMMI describes the principles and practices that underlie a mature company process. The aim of CMMI is to help companies improve their processes by means of an evolutionary path. This path starts with ad hoc, chaotic processes and ends with mature, disciplined processes.
| What is quality? West defines quality as "fitness for purpose", which means: the degree to which a system meets the requirements. These requirements, although often also subject to change, must be properly determined. An extension to this is system documentation, which is necessary to guarantee that the software system remains manageable after it has been delivered. |
The benefits of mature processes are:
CMMI is not only useful for developing software but also for describing in general terms the consecutive levels of organisations and the level of management that an organisation has realised or aims to achieve.
West often uses the PRINCE2 method to manage projects and ensure that they are successful and completed on time and within budget. PRINCE2 is a project management method based on a process-oriented approach.
| What does quality cost? High quality is almost always cheaper than low quality, even in the design phase. A well-defined collection of system requirements can shorten the implementation and test phases of a project considerably. |
The method is suitable for all types of projects and can be adapted in accordance with the needs and scale size of the application of the processes, techniques and components. The processes are defined using the objectives to be achieved.
The project managers that West assigns to PRINCE2 projects are always certified.
Although the application of standards does not offer any guarantee of quality, it does increase the transparency and completeness of the development process and the products supplied. We apply the following standards:
| Prototyping/"Proof-of-Concept" West often carries out "Proof-of-Concept" projects, whereby the viability of the functionality that needs to be realised, the technique that needs to applied or the idea is tested. The intuitive notion relating to "quality" is often not achieved (think for instance about missing system documentation), yet this is not the case if you define quality as "fitness for purpose". West is flexible. We think and work together with our clients. |
Audits and code reviews form an important quality instrument. By having the results of an (intermediate) product checked by an independent third party, we create an independent assessment of product quality. West often takes the initiative to undergo audits and carries out audits and code reviews of the software products of other organisations.
Ultimately, quality is determined by the people that do the work. The software engineers at West are highly qualified (most hold degrees in computer science), they consider quality to be important and feel pride when they achieve high quality end results, they work in a structured and consistent manner, and they perform "peer reviews" of each other's work. In short: they are real software engineers.
Because Java technology is at the basis of West's technical vision, all the software engineers at West take part in the Sun Certification Program in Java Technology. This is a globally accepted programme in the software industry aimed at the application of Java technology in software development and enterprise architecture. West's software engineers work their way through the programme and development levels up to the level of architect ("Sun Certified Enterprise Architect for the Java 2 Platform").