SPI Long-Term Benefits

The contribution of small enterprises to the software industry is marked, but the level of understanding of the ways in which they can survive, grow, and improve is limited. In particular, there has been a lack of information on the long-term outcomes of process improvement initiatives in small firms. Building on the basis of a study of assessment-based improvement in 23 small and medium size organizations, we have undertaken a follow-up meeting with each company approximately five years following the original assessment. The results show that changes made in an organisation, driven by a framework of model-based improvement, can have long-term impacts even in small organisations; it appears, however, that there is no necessary link between success in implementing improvement and survival of the organisation. The results provide insight into the extent to which improvement actions can reinforce overall success for the small business.

Practical Experience in Customization for a Software Development Process for Small Companies Based on RUP Process and MSF

The quality in software projects is related the deliveries that are adjusted to the use, and that they take care of to the objectives. In this way, Brazilian organizations of software development, especially the small and medium ones, need to demonstrate to future customers whom an initial understand of the business problem has enough. This chapter has as objective to demonstrate methodology, strategy, main phases and procedures adopted beyond the gotten ones of a small organization of development of software in the implantation of a Customized Software Engineering Process and of a Tool of Support to the Process in the period of 2004 to 2006 on the basis of rational unified process (RUP) and in the Microsoft solutions framework (MSF).

Organizational Analysis of Small Software Organizations

The intention of this chapter is twofold. On the one hand, I illustrate the complexity of the small software organization, because it is not a reduced version of a large company. Rather, it has very important advantages and challenges. Then, I use organization studies as a multi-disciplinary and multi-paradigmatic link between disciplines, able to reconcile those distinct visions. On the other hand, I open the discussion on the state of crisis affecting software engineering as a discipline. For that, I try to sensitize the reader to the facts surrounding this crisis, but also to the most promising alternative, which is the redefinition of software engineering as a discipline. One of the possible options for that paradigmatic change requires a multi-disciplinary orientation because their positivist roots and the adoption of a constructivist ontology and epistemology facilitating the inclusion of visions non-qualified for a systematic, disciplined and quantitative approach. My position is that only by opening up this discussion is it possible to begin transforming and consolidating software engineering as a strengthened and more terrain-attached discipline because of its powerful theoretical and practical explanatory capacity.

Estimate of Effort in Software Implementation Projects

This document contains a proposal for project estimation of software implementation to be used in a Mexican SME business (small and middle size companies). This method, named Ultrasist Use Case Points (UsistUCP), is based on the Use Case Point (UCP) estimation method, developed in 1993, along with the object-oriented methods, by Gustav Karner (1993). We start by explaining the use case point estimation method; then we will develop the UsistUCP proposal, specifying its differences with the original method (UCP). To make a comparative analysis between these two methods, we take one case under study to be estimated based on these two methods and then we will provide the corresponding conclusions.

Practical Application of a Software Development Framework in an Accountant Office

The present chapter exposes the definition and practical application of a framework in the system area of an organization. Due to the total lack of the process, this framework has permitted us to generate the need of the implementation of a definite process model for software development. The described framework has been applied in a study case, just as has been done in other opportunities by different organizations with similar characteristics. This work provides the possibility of applying the framework slowly against an improvised and indefinite process, in which a methodology, a process model, and a collection of techniques and tools converge. These elements are advisable for small- and medium-sized software development companies and would facilitate their way to implement an integral process model which would continuously improve.

A Model to Classify Knowledge Assets of a Process-Oriented Development

Knowledge assets are knowledge regarding markets, products, technologies and organizations, that a business needs to own and that enable its business processes to generate profits. Today, how to model knowledge assets is a concern of the organizational modeling community; mostly because consensus on a knowledge asset model is far from achieved. This chapter is aiming at identifying a model to characterize knowledgeable assets and their relationships in a software organization. Generally speaking, knowledge assets represent intellectual capital for a software organization and support the whole organizational process. The model proposed here is an initial step towards defining knowledge management as a transversal process at the organization. An instantiation of the model is illustrated through a case study in a real software company that recognizes the value of knowledge as a tool to support and improve the organizational strategies.

How to Align Software Projects with Business Strategy

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are facing a great challenge that consists of using all the opportunities technology can offer in order to help improve their productivity, geographical reach, and reinvent or complement their business models. Those companies that are not capable of using technology in order to become more competitive will face new threats because nowadays SME companies need to compete with companies not only in the same geographic area, but also need to compete with new products and services that change business rules faster than ever. The main purpose of this chapter is to provide a methodological framework to promote strategic alignment and improve execution through a better communication and understanding about IT projects that will help entrepreneurs and managers to make better IT investment decisions in order to offer a competitive edge to their companies through a better management of the strategic IT portfolio.

A Study of Software Process Improvement in Small and Medium Organizations

Presently, the majority of software development, including outsourcing, is carried out by small and medium size software development organizations all over the world. These organizations are not capable to bear the cost of implementing available software process improvement models like CMMI, SPICE, ISO, and so forth. Therefore, there is a need to address this problem. In this chapter, various software process assessment and software process improvement models for small and medium scale organizations are discussed and compared. This will lead towards development of standardized software process improvement model for small and medium sized software development organizations in the future.

An Incremental Functionality-Oriented Free Software Development Methodology

This chapter presents a methodology used as reference model for a free software factory that is part of the National Centre for Free Technologies in Venezuela. This centre is oriented at promoting free software development for serving mostly the public sector in order to promote endogenous development and technologic autonomy. Under this strategy, strengthening the software small and medium size enterprises and cooperatives, by allowing them to participate in different projects (improving their know-how) and providing them with a methodology for increasing their capabilities and software quality, is necessary and urgent. This methodology plans the development process incrementally, based on a prioritisation of the software functionalities development in accordance to the functionalities risks, development urgency, and dependencies. It combines aspects of the two styles of free software development, namely cathedral and bazaar. The development process is centralised, in essence collaborative, and continuously allows source code release.

Agile SPI

This chapter presents Agile SPI, a framework in which the main goal is to motivate small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) towards improving and certifying their software development processes. This framework was born in the SIMEP-SW project where a software process improvement model for supporting process improvement in the Colombian software industry context was built. We present Agile SPI, its origin, development, principles, architecture, main components, and the initial experiences.