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| PKS is committed to designing , documenting,
and creating software to the highest standards. We have implemented
ISO 9001:2000, and have had our quality management systems audited
by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. |
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| Quality Management |
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| PKS has implemented
ISO 9001:2000 as its quality management
methodology for the Research and Development and Customer Support
teams. |
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| Software Controls Audit |
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| In June 2001, PKS
requested an independent audit of the implementation of its quality
management systems and of the mechanisms for the protection of its
intellectual property. The 20 person-day audit was conducted by
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. The auditor's summary reads: |
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| "Overall, our review did not identify
any significant control deficiencies in the development of the LabWizard
application in each of the seven areas documented in Section 2 -
controls were assessed as effective." |
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| The strongest of these controls included: |
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| Documentation
Processes |
Comprehensive documentation is
maintained in relation to policies and procedures, ranging
from high level version release plans, to detailed work plans
for individual iterations in the development process. The
documentation is developed within an established, structured
framework, which helps ensure its context and relevance to
the business and the development process. |
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| Change Control
Processes |
Well-defined processes are in place
in relation to tracking, reviewing and implementation of changes
to the software. This includes a formal review of software
trouble reports by appropriate senior personnel in the form
of the Software Configuration Control Board, which comprises
the Chief Technology Officer, Applications Manager and Medical
Advisor. |
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| Systems Development
Methodology |
A formal systems development methodology
is stringently followed, and a common set of programming standards
are used by all developers in the programming team. This has
helped ensure consistency in program development, as well
as acting as an additional quality control measure. |
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| Electronic
Tools |
A number of electronic
tools are used as part of the development process, for both
change control measures and functional testing. PKS uses the
established software control package Visual SourceSafe to
help ensure version control over documentation is properly
maintained, and performs functional testing daily, using an
automated Java Robot testing tool." |
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| A copy of the full Software Controls
Review audit report is available on request. |
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| Software Development Methodology |
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| The Software Development Team have embraced
the Extreme Programming (XP) software development methodology. This
relatively new methodology is providing enormous value for PKS.
The methodology focuses the software development on: |
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- Forming strong partnerships with customers in order to understand
their requirements
- Only implementing what is required
- Fully automatic, repeatable tests to ensure the system meets the requirements
- Monitoring and measuring the health of the running system to nip problems in the bud
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