scholarly journals Using grounded theory to understand software process improvement: A study of Irish software product companies

2007 ◽  
Vol 49 (6) ◽  
pp. 654-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerry Coleman ◽  
Rory O’Connor
2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 45-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Delroy Chevers ◽  
Annette M. Mills ◽  
Evan Duggan ◽  
Stanford Moore

For software development firms to be competitive they must assure the quality of the software product. This has led many firms to adopt software process improvement (SPI) programs such as the capability maturity model integration (CMMI). However, for small software firms, especially those in developing countries with limited resources, these programs are often too cumbersome and costly to implement. To address this issue, this paper proposes a simplified SPI model for small firms (SPM-S) comprised of 10 key software development practices; with fewer practices, the proposed model should be more accessible and less costly to implement. Using data collected in four developing countries in the English-speaking Caribbean from 112 developer/user dyads, the model is evaluated with respect to its impact on software quality. The findings show that the software development process coupled with supporting technology (e.g. project management tools) significantly impact software product quality. Implications for software process improvement in small firms and future research are discussed.


Author(s):  
Alberto Heredia ◽  
Javier García-Guzmán ◽  
Fuensanta Medina-Domínguez ◽  
Arturo Mora-Soto

In general, software process improvement entails significant benefits such as increased software product quality, decreased time and development cost, and decreased risks. To obtain these, organizations must apply knowledge management because the identification of new knowledge is considered key to success when improving software processes. Existing knowledge is, however, difficult to find, and when found, it is often difficult to reuse in practice. This is due to the fact that a considerable part of the knowledge that is useful for executing software processes is tacit and not all of it can be captured and made explicit. The purpose of this chapter is to present a framework for software process improvement based on the enrichment of organizational knowledge by means of the acquisition of tacit knowledge from individuals working in different teams and environments. The framework includes the specification of roles, processes, and tools, and is based on a process asset library and the introduction of configuration and change management mechanisms.


Author(s):  
Alberto Heredia ◽  
Javier García-Guzmán ◽  
Fuensanta Medina-Domínguez ◽  
Arturo Mora-Soto

In general, software process improvement entails significant benefits such as increased software product quality, decreased time and development cost, and decreased risks. To obtain these, organizations must apply knowledge management because the identification of new knowledge is considered key to success when improving software processes. Existing knowledge is, however, difficult to find, and when found, it is often difficult to reuse in practice. This is due to the fact that a considerable part of the knowledge that is useful for executing software processes is tacit and not all of it can be captured and made explicit. The purpose of this chapter is to present a framework for software process improvement based on the enrichment of organizational knowledge by means of the acquisition of tacit knowledge from individuals working in different teams and environments. The framework includes the specification of roles, processes, and tools, and is based on a process asset library and the introduction of configuration and change management mechanisms.


10.28945/2193 ◽  
2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rogério Rossi ◽  
Kechi Hirama

Software technology has high impact on the global economy as in many sectors of contemporary society. As a product enabling the most varied daily activities, the software product has to be produced reflecting high quality. Software quality is dependent on its development that is based in a large set of software development processes. However, the implementation and continuous improvement of software process aimed at software product should be carefully institutionalized by software development organizations such as software factories, testing factories, V&V organizations, among others. The institutionalization of programs such as a Software Process Improvement Program, or SPI Program, require a strategic planning, which is addressed in this article from the perspective of specific models and frameworks, as well as reflections based on software process engineering models and standards. In addition, a set of strategic drivers is proposed to assist the implementation of a Strategic Plan for a SPI Program which can be considered by the organizations before starting this kind of Program.


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 258-272
Author(s):  
Mitali Chugh ◽  
Nitin Chanderwal ◽  
Rajesh Upadhyay ◽  
Devendra Kumar Punia

The software development industry is characterised by swift innovation and competition. To survive, software engineering (SE) organisations need to develop high-quality software products in a timely fashion and at low cost. Knowledge-based approaches to software development are extremely supportive to acquiring new knowledge and leveraging existing knowledge from software projects; this enables constant improvement of software development practices. In this empirical study of Indian SE organisations, we study the impact of managing knowledge for perceived software process improvement (PSPI) and its effect on software product quality. Information technology (IT) in knowledge management (KM) is an important facilitator for any SE organisation desiring to exploit evolving technologies for management of their knowledge assets and for carrying out various KM processes of knowledge capture, storage, retrieval and sharing. Surveys collected from Indian SE organisations were analysed to propose a model using a structured equation modelling (SEM) technique. Our findings reveal that the relation between KM and quality of software product is positively mediated by PSPI. These findings reinforce an arena that is of growing importance to researchers and practitioners and which has seen only a limited number of empirical studies to date in the context of Indian SE organisations.


2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 43-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariano Angel Montoni ◽  
Ana Regina Cavalcanti da Rocha

The successful implementation of Software Process Improvement (SPI) depends not only on the abilities of practitioners to identify processes modifications that may help to increase organizations capabilities to develop software, but also abilities to overcome barriers that can jeopardize the organizational change process provoked by SPI initiatives. The literature reports show that SPI practitioners must have experienced skills to overcome common social-cultural factors that pose as critical barriers for successfully implementing SPI. Nevertheless, there is no consensus in the area about what the critical success factors are for conducting SPI implementation initiatives. This work presents a study based on Grounded Theory methodology to acquire knowledge about SPI critical success factors. The main product of this study is a theoretical knowledge framework consisting of a set of inter-related categories grounded on a set of propositions that explains the phenomenon associated to the success of SPI implementation initiatives.


2012 ◽  
pp. 1988-2002
Author(s):  
Mahmood Niazi ◽  
Sami Zahran

The industrial revolution transformed the cottage industry into mass production. In this chapter, the authors trace the recent advancement of the software industry and establish that it is following a similar route followed by the manufacturing industry towards industrialization. The chapter positions the concept of Software Product Lines (http://www.sei.cmu.edu/productlines/), as a possible foundation for software industrialization, and the authors introduce the concept of Software Process Lines as complimentary foundation for software industrialization. The chapter discusses a number of questions: What are the Software Process Lines? What are the justifications and benefits of Software Process Lines? What are the steps for implementing Software Process Lines? How can Software Process Lines enable and facilitate the establishment of a continuous Software Process Improvement environment?


Author(s):  
Mariano Angel Montoni ◽  
Ana Regina Cavalcanti da Rocha

The successful implementation of Software Process Improvement (SPI) depends not only on the abilities of practitioners to identify processes modifications that may help to increase organizations capabilities to develop software, but also abilities to overcome barriers that can jeopardize the organizational change process provoked by SPI initiatives. The literature reports show that SPI practitioners must have experienced skills to overcome common social-cultural factors that pose as critical barriers for successfully implementing SPI. Nevertheless, there is no consensus in the area about what the critical success factors are for conducting SPI implementation initiatives. This work presents a study based on Grounded Theory methodology to acquire knowledge about SPI critical success factors. The main product of this study is a theoretical knowledge framework consisting of a set of inter-related categories grounded on a set of propositions that explains the phenomenon associated to the success of SPI implementation initiatives.


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