A Software Process Improvement Model for Small Firms in Developing Countries

2020 ◽  
pp. 47-80
Author(s):  
Delroy Chevers ◽  
Annette M. Mills ◽  
Evan Duggan ◽  
Stanford Moore
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Software Development ◽  
Process Improvement ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Software Process ◽  
Software Process Improvement ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Maturity Model ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Using Data

Managing software quality is a major challenge for software development firms. This has led many firms to adopt software process improvement programs such as the capability maturity model integration to improve the software development process. However, these models are often too cumbersome and costly, especially for small software firms in developing countries, to implement. This chapter proposes a simplified software process improvement model that prioritises key practices for software development, given the constraints that face small firms. Using data collected in four developing countries in the English-speaking Caribbean from 112 developer/user dyads on their software practices, the results show that software process coupled with supporting technology (e.g., project management tools) significantly impact the quality of the software product. Smaller projects (represented by size of the project team) are also associated with high quality software products than larger projects. Implications for SPI programs in small firms and future research is discussed.

An Evaluation of Software Development Practices among Small Firms in Developing Countries

2021 ◽  
pp. 955-983
Author(s):  
Delroy Chevers ◽  
Annette M. Mills ◽  
Evan Duggan ◽  
Stanford Moore
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Software Development ◽  
Process Improvement ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Software Process ◽  
Software Process Improvement ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Software Product ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Software Development Practices

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.

An Evaluation of Software Development Practices among Small Firms in Developing Countries

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 45-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Delroy Chevers ◽  
Annette M. Mills ◽  
Evan Duggan ◽  
Stanford Moore
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Software Development ◽  
Process Improvement ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Software Process ◽  
Software Process Improvement ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Capability Maturity ◽  
Software Product ◽  
Software Development Practices

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.

scholarly journals Are project managers informally following capability maturity model integration practices for project management?

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 86-94
Author(s):  
Javed Iqbal ◽  
Muzafar Khan ◽  
Nasir Mehmood Minhas
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Software Development ◽  
Process Improvement ◽  
Software Process ◽  
Software Process Improvement ◽  
Project Planning ◽  
Model Integration ◽  
Capability Maturity Model ◽  
Maturity Model ◽  
Capability Maturity

Project planning is crucial for fruitful completion of a software development project. In case of a certified software development organisation, one can guess whether the software development projects are planned properly or not. But, what to do for a non-certified organisation? The objective of this study is to address this problem. For this purpose, a questionnaire survey has been conducted by involving experienced practitioners. The results show that several software development organisations follow Capability Maturity Model Integration) Project Planning-Process Area practices unofficially. Such organisations are potential candidate organisations for software process improvement initiatives, and would be cheap and safe for successful completion of a project. Keywords: CMMI, software project management, software process improvement, specific goals, specific practices, subpractices.

Introducing Agility into Plan-Based Assessments

2011 ◽  
pp. 281-314
Author(s):  
Minna Pikkarainen ◽  
Fergal McCaffery
Keyword(s):  
Software Development ◽  
Process Improvement ◽  
Software Process ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Software Process Improvement ◽  
Maturity Model ◽  
Capability Maturity ◽  
Improvement Programme ◽  
Development Assessment ◽  
Software Development Practices

Agile or Plan-driven approaches to software process improvement (such as the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) and the ISO/IEC 15504 standard) claim to provide companies with improved processes, higher quality software and faster software development. Assessment is an important component of any software process improvement programme, as in order for an organisation to commence an improvement programme, they must first be aware of the current state of their software development practices. Therefore, in the case of small companies such assessments need also to be cost effective and focused only on the most relevant process areas.

scholarly journals CMMI and Ideal in Software Process Improvement

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Software Development ◽  
Process Improvement ◽  
Software Process ◽  
Software Process Improvement ◽  
Critical Factors ◽  
Development Processes ◽  
The Ideal

Different models and standards have been developed with the purpose of improving software development processes and obtaining quality products and achieving customer satisfaction. Despite the efforts that organizations make, they do not always achieve these results. In this article we present the results of the implementation of best practices established by the CMMI model using the IDEAL and SCAMPI B methodology. The results show that applying best practices helps organizations to improve their processes, minimize the number of defects and increase customer satisfaction. Likewise, the critical factors that were considered and aspects to be considered in the deployment of processes are presented.

Benefits of CMM and CMMI-Based Software Process Improvement

2014 ◽  
pp. 1385-1400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maged Abdullah ◽  
Rodina Ahmad ◽  
Lee Sai Peck ◽  
Zarinah Mohd Kasirun ◽  
Fahad Alshammari
Keyword(s):  
Process Improvement ◽  
Software Process ◽  
Software Process Improvement ◽  
Capability Maturity Model ◽  
Maturity Model ◽  
Software Products ◽  
Capability Maturity ◽  
Development Organizations ◽  
Prior Literature ◽  
Maintenance Activities

Software Process Improvement (SPI) has become the survival key of numerous software development organizations who want to deliver their products cheaper, faster, and better. A software process ultimately describes the way that organizations develop their software products and supporting services; meanwhile, SPI on the other hand, is the act of changing the software process and maintenance activities. This chapter purposefully describes the benefits of software process improvement. The Capability Maturity Model (CMM) and the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) are briefly surveyed and extensively discussed. Prior literature on the benefits and impacts of CMM and CMMI-based software process improvement is also highlighted.

Software Process Improvement for Small and Very Small Enterprises

2014 ◽  
pp. 1363-1384
Author(s):  
Mohammad Zarour ◽  
Alain Abran ◽  
Jean-Marc Desharnais
Keyword(s):  
Software Development ◽  
Process Improvement ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Software Process ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Software Process Improvement ◽  
Assessment Methods ◽  
Small Enterprises ◽  
Software Development Process ◽  
Improvement Process

Software organizations have been struggling for decades to improve the quality of their products by improving their software development processes. Designing an improvement program for a software development process is a demanding and complex task. This task consists of two main processes: the assessment process and the improvement process. A successful improvement process requires first a successful assessment; failing to assess the organization’s software development process could create unsatisfactory results. Although very small enterprises (VSEs) have several interesting characteristics such as flexibility and ease of communications, initiating an assessment and improvement process based on well-known Software Process Improvement (SPI) models such as Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) and ISO 15504 is more challenging in such VSEs. Accordingly, researchers and practitioners have designed a few assessment methods to meet the needs of VSEs organizations to initiate an SPI process. This chapter discusses the assessment and improvement process in VSEs; we first examine VSEs characteristics and problems. Next, we discuss the different assessment methods and standards designed to fit the needs of such organizations and how to compare them. Finally, we present future research work perceived in this context.

Knowledge Management in Software Process Improvement

2011 ◽  
pp. 273-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuib Bin Basri ◽  
Rory V. O’Connor
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Software Development ◽  
Process Improvement ◽  
Software Process ◽  
Software Process Improvement ◽  
Management Style ◽  
Software Development Process ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Informal Environment ◽  
Small Team

This chapter discusses knowledge management (KM) aspects of how software process and software process improvement (SPI) is practiced within very small entities (VSEs) in the context of Irish software development industry. In particular, this study is concerned with the process of software development knowledge management in supporting the SPI. In order to understand the support process, the authors of this chapter have studied how KM processes are practiced within VSEs which includes communication, learning, sharing, and documentation process. This study also focuses in detail on the issues of the knowledge atrophy problem in VSEs. The findings explain how KM has been practiced and influenced the software development process and process improvement in VSEs. This result indicates that KM processes in VSEs are being undertaken in a very informal manner and also in indirect way. This is due to a small team size, autonomous working and macro-management style and caused VSEs to be more informal in their KM processes specifically and SPI generally. In addition, the results have indicated that the informal environment and culture helped VSEs to easily create and share knowledge between staff members and also assisted VSEs to mitigate the knowledge atrophy problem in their organization.

scholarly journals Strategic Issues on Implementing a Software Process Improvement Program

10.28945/2193 ◽  
2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rogério Rossi ◽  
Kechi Hirama
Keyword(s):  
Software Development ◽  
Process Improvement ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Software Process ◽  
Software Process Improvement ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Improvement Program ◽  
Strategic Issues ◽  
Software Product ◽  
Engineering Models

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.

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