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Can a Linux Vendor be ISO 9001 Certified?
sgml4kids asks: "Could a company that ships a Linux distribution achieve any of the ISO quality certifications? Since RedHat can't
control how the bulk of its main product is built, could
it pass one of these quality audits? Is there any way of using these industry standard quality standards for Linux development?" Interesting questions, and ones that may become important further on down the road. Any info?
Sorry guys ...
I think most copies of Redhat conform to the ISO-9660 standard.
Scuttlemonkey is a troll
I don't see why not. There are plenty of companies that are so certified and yet rely on third-party components. I think the key would be the process that turns those components into a distribution. Documentation of that process and adherance to that documentation would be the basis of certification, as I understand it.
As the current web designer and Open Source consultant for http://qualityassistant.com, I'm confident that the answer is yes.
Let's take Red Hat as an example. Since Red Hat does do some design work (RPM, boot disks, and other utilities they write), their coding practices, design procedures, and such would have to be documented, and audited. (Gee, does that mean Alan Cox would have to follow procedures? That would have to be worked out... probably just by omitting Cox's work enviroment from the scope of the certification)
Otherwise, they just have to document how they produce the CDs, manuals and such. Then, they have to make sure that the products end up the way they're supposed to. Their support staff, and everything, would also have to have documented procedures.
Red Hat, were they going for certification, would just have to come up with a way of approving their suppliers of code. Perhaps their only qualification would be that it run on the version of linux they ship... Auditors don't make up the details, they just check to ensure that the procedures you write, are followed.
ISO9001 is all about how well you follow quality procedures; it has zero, zip, nada & nothing to do with "quality" in the sense of "fitness for purpose" or "value to some person" (any Pirsig fans out there?).
So, if RH or VA or whoever want to write some procedures for how they do whatever they do, and then follow them, they can get certified as sticking to those procedures. There's at least one case of a software company sticking "ISO9001 Certified" on their boxes though all they had done was document and follow the procedures for packaging!
I speak as one who has been ISO9001 audited at least twice, and that for procedures that covered software development.
ben_ the technologist and platform agnostic