Software audits serve a vital purpose to an organization. But they can also disrupt a company's development and may place a financial strain on a project because of unbudgeted costs. Teams and management may be required to consult with auditors to ensure the process is complete and accurate. Software audits are conducted when an organization believes that it may be in violation of its user agreements. The organization can start a software audit when licensing compliance needs to be verified, to monitor QA, to ensure licenses are all current and up to date, and to ensure industry standards are still being complied with. Software audits also help uncover any unused tools with current licenses. Removing unused licensed software can help save an organization money. If an organization experiences a lack of visibility or software process bottlenecks, then a software audit acts as a health check for the software being audited.
A software quality audit is an in-depth assessment of software development. This procedure evaluates software processes, artefacts, documentation or methodologies based on Software Quality Assurance (SQA) standards to ensure compliance and integrity, in addition to identifying and addressing potential software vulnerabilities.
A software security audit focuses on evaluating software code to review data security and maintenance, ensure legal compliance and improve security. This type of audit identifies software vulnerabilities, helps improve anti-piracy protocols and enhance overall software security and compliance.
A software usability and accessibility audit evaluates all elements of UI and UX design, including how easy it is to navigate and key user flows. The main goal of the audit is to identify flaws or convoluted user flows.
A software audit is sometimes confused with a software review. Although both processes are similar, they serve different purposes. Audits are comprehensive compliance and quality evaluations, while reviews are simpler assessments to collect general information. Audits are completed with a formal audit report, whereas reviews result in a report that only provides a high-level overview.