TickIT is the information technology industrys interpretation of the ISO 9001 standard. In the UK, TickIT is recognised by all government departments and major purchasers and it is compatible with European requirements for accredited quality system certification.

The Mumbai Mahape centre and all the four centres in Chennai were covered under the audit. All locations and support groups were simultaneously audited, and certification was recommended under the United Kingdom Accreditation Service.

Says Hexaware Technologies executive director and president (delivery operations) P K Sridharan: "In our quest for continuous quality improvement we have been proactive in providing solutions to customers by continuously striving to exceed their expectations." "Our customers have benefited as a result of fewer defects, cycle-time reduction and improved delivery capabilities, and we gain from high levels of customer satisfaction and repeat business from existing customers. Focus on quality has also led to lower costs and enabled better savings," says Sridharan.

Among various initiatives undertaken by Hexaware is the organisation-wide defect-prevention programme, which ensures that both the project and organisation take specific action to prevent the recurrence of defects. Besides, there are focused process improvements, usage of metrics, and automation of processes and introduction of new tools.

Hexaware has instituted systems that enable continuous process improvement and transition to new technologies with everyone in the organisation encouraged to participate in process improvement activities.