Implementing the Modeling-Based Approach for Supporting the Software Process Assessment in SPI Initiatives Inside a Small Software Company

Abstract

Software Process Improvement (SPI) has become more and more important during the past ten years, since competition is increasingly determined by the proportion of software products and services. Over the years, many different SPI approaches have been developed; most of them are either best-practice-oriented approaches or continuous improvement approaches, which require an accurate assessment process as a basis from which to begin the improvement. Usually, almost all research is focused on a questionnaire-based approach for process’ assessment. However, without the organizational commitment it is too difficult obtain realistic and accurate results. The main achievement of this paper, lies in the development of an integrated mechanism for assessing software processes, using a hybrid mechanism that incorporates modeling-based assessment. This mechanism was evaluated using the EvalProSoft framework and descriptive concepts, to facilitate establishing SPI initiatives in a small Mexican software company.