What activity sets requirements for quality gates before releasing software?

Setting requirements for quality gates before releasing software involves the application of specific policies and standards that ensure the final product meets certain criteria of quality, security, and functionality. The analysis of policy compliance plays a critical role in this process, as it outlines the necessary guidelines and requirements that software must adhere to before it can be considered ready for release.

The policy compliance analysis assesses how well the software aligns with established policies, whether they are internal organizational policies, industry standards, or regulatory requirements. This thorough analysis ensures that all necessary quality benchmarks—such as security, performance, and usability—are met, thereby acting as a quality gate that must be passed before deployment.

In contrast, the other activities listed, while relevant to software security and quality, do not serve primarily as mechanisms for establishing requirements for quality gates prior to release. Open-source licensing review, for example, focuses on legal compliance with open-source licenses, which is important but not a direct measure of quality. Vulnerability scans and code-assisted penetration testing are critical for identifying security issues, but they typically occur after software is developed to test its security rather than establishing upfront quality requirements.