Science and Substance: A Challenge to Software Engineers
IEEE Software
The capability maturity model: guidelines for improving the software process
The capability maturity model: guidelines for improving the software process
The quality of questionnaire based software maintenance studies
ACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Notes
A systematic survey of CMM experience and results
Proceedings of the 18th international conference on Software engineering
The role of experimentation in software engineering: past, current, and future
Proceedings of the 18th international conference on Software engineering
What small business and small organizations say about the CMM: experience report
ICSE '94 Proceedings of the 16th international conference on Software engineering
Qualitative Methods in Empirical Studies of Software Engineering
IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering
Multi-method research: an empirical investigation of object-oriented technology
Journal of Systems and Software
A framework for evaluation and prediction of software process improvement success
Journal of Systems and Software
How Software Process Improvement Helped Motorola
IEEE Software
Qualitative Techniques and Tools for Measuring, Analyzing, and Simulating Software Processes
Proceedings of the International Workshop on Experimental Software Engineering Issues: Critical Assessment and Future Directions
The effects of software processes on meeting targets and quality
HICSS '95 Proceedings of the 28th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences
How organizations adopt information system process innovations: a longitudinal analysis
European Journal of Information Systems
Low-rigour, Rapid Software Process Assessments for Small Software Development Firms
ASWEC '04 Proceedings of the 2004 Australian Software Engineering Conference
SPICE in retrospect: Developing a standard for process assessment
Journal of Systems and Software
Key processes to start software process improvement in small companies
Proceedings of the 2009 ACM symposium on Applied Computing
A Process for Driving Process Improvement in VSEs
ICSP '09 Proceedings of the International Conference on Software Process: Trustworthy Software Development Processes
Software Process Improvement as organizational change: A metaphorical analysis of the literature
Journal of Systems and Software
Software process improvement success factors for small and medium Web companies: A qualitative study
Information and Software Technology
Dependency analysis between CMMI process areas
PROFES'10 Proceedings of the 11th international conference on Product-Focused Software Process Improvement
Hi-index | 0.00 |
With increasing interest by the software development community in software process improvement (SPI), it is vital that SPI programs are evaluated and the reports of lessons learned disseminated. This paper presents an evaluation of a program in which low-rigour, one-day SPI assessments were offered at no cost to 22 small Australian software development firms. The assessment model was based on ISO/IEC 15504 (SPICE). About 12 months after the assessment, the firms were contacted to arrange a follow-up meeting to determine the extent to which they had implemented the recommendations from the assessment. Comparison of the process capability levels at the time of assessment and the follow-up meetings revealed that the process improvement program was effective in improving the process capability of 15 of these small software development firms. Analysis of the assessment and follow-up reports explored important issues relating to SPI: elapsed time from assessment to follow-up meeting, the need for mentoring, the readiness of firms for SPI, the role of the owner/manager, the advice provided by the assessors, and the need to record costs and benefits. Based on an analysis of the program and its outcomes, firms are warned not to undertake SPI if their operation is likely to be disrupted by events internal to the firm or in the external environment. Firms are urged to draw on the expertise of assessors and consultants as mentors, and to ensure the action plan from the assessment is feasible in terms of the timeframe for evaluation. The RAPID method can be improved by fostering a closer relationship between the assessor and the firm sponsor; by making more extensive use of feedback questionnaires after the assessment and follow-up meeting; by facilitating the collection and reporting of cost benefit metrics; and by providing more detailed guidance for the follow-up meeting. As well as providing an evaluation of the assessment model and method, the outcomes from this research have the potential to better equip practitioners and consultants to undertake software process improvement, hence increasing the success of small software development firms in domestic and global markets.