Report on the tenth TickIT Forum
Getting the Measure of TickIT
Tim Cox of Triad Group gave delegates a privileged introduction to a new report from BSI-DISC called "Getting the Measure of TickIT". This report, which provides guidance material on software measurement, is being developed by a Working Group under the leadership of Derek Irving and will soon be published on the TickIT Web Site.
Not only did Tim explain the rationale behind the report and give an overview of its contents, but delegates also received a copy of the current draft version. In the afternoon, Tim and Derek also ran a very successful syndicate helping participants understand the key issues involved in the development and implementation of a software measurement programme as part of a company-wide improvement initiative.
Building on TickIT Certification
In the second morning presentation, David Wolstencroft explained how FI Group have built on their TickIT certification, achieved initially over 8 years ago. David explained why FI Group initiated their Meridian programme and how this has helped FI Group move from its paper-based Quality System towards the organization's process-based electronic business system. David illustrated this with high level examples from FI's business model. These generated great interest amongst the delegates, as shown by the penetrating questions put to David and his colleagues.
In the other afternoon syndicate, David Wolstencroft was aided by Dick Whittington of Salamander. This syndicate looked at how to manage change and focussed primarily on aiming to show the participants how to develop business process models for their own organizations.
Using TickIT as the Benchmark for Software Certification
The third morning presentation was given by Roy Farmer of BSI DISC in which he explained his understanding of how UKAS is using TickIT as the benchmark for software certification. Roy based his talk on a paper issued by UKAS only a few weeks before the meeting.
Meeting Ratings and Information
The delegate ratings TickIT Forum meetings have been consistently high since the first meeting, and this was no exception. The 21 delegates, all from TickIT certified organizations or bodies (such as CBs) associated with TickIT, gave an overall rating of 4.0 out 5.0 for the usefulness of the meeting. All TickIT Forum Members, even if they were not able to attend, were sent a form to order at no charge any of the items available from the meeting. This includes copies of the slides used by the presenters (sent in electronic form by email if requested) and audio cassette recordings of the talks.
