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Are our software products world class?

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CIOL Bureau
New Update

NEW DELHI: The software industry has to wake up to the fact that just

attaining CMM level certification will not ensure sustained growth. At the end

of the day, it is world-class products that will ensure healthy bottom lines.

While the CMM certification is only a benchmark of the processes being followed

within the organization, there are no processes that would monitor the quality

of the product, which is in fact the goal of the processes. Industry experts are

of the opinion that just as there are benchmarks for software processes like CMM

certifications, there ought to evolve standards that would determine the quality

of the products being developed.

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Emphasizing the need to have quality products, Alan M Davis, President of

Omni-Vista, USA, says, "India has established itself in the software

development world. But in order to have sustained growth in the industry, it is

time to focus on the quality of the product that is being churned out. Although

there are no evolved standards, the best way to assess the quality of the

product is customer satisfaction." Elaborating on the concept of customer

satisfaction, Davis says that sometimes even the best-developed product may not

be successful if it does not fulfill the criterion of appropriateness.

Appropriateness is the criterion that refers to what the customers want and

not what is necessarily the best available.

Companies can broadly follow three parameters to assess the quality of their

products: whether the product sells well or not; whether the product has been

developed within the budget, and whether the product has been developed within

the time limits. It is important that companies negotiate with clients on these

three parameters before closing a deal. And organizations that have achieved

higher level of CMM certification are usually those that are better placed to

make more accurate predictions in terms of the budget and the time required for

the project.

Colorado-based Omni-Vista is a consultant to software organizations, helping

them understand clients' need and aligning the development of the product to

suit those needs. The company has developed `On your mark-Pro' which enables

organizations to monitor the quality of developed products. Davis is currently

in the process of negotiating with distributors to launch this product in India.

Priced at $499 per seat, it also includes support and maintenance for a year at

an additional cost of $90.

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