Software Process Improvement Framework Research Articles

A software process improvement framework based on best practices

AbstractSoftware process improvement requires significant effort related not only to the identification of relevant issues and providing an adequate response to them, but also to the implementation and adoption of the changes. Best practices provide recommendations to software teams on how to address identified objectives in practice, based on aggregated experience and knowledge. In the paper, we present the GÉANT SPI framework based on best practices, together with the collected experience from the process of adopting the best practices.

A benchmarking program to support software process improvement adaptation in a developing country, a Pakistan case.

BackgroundStandardization of software development processes using the software process improvement (SPI) frameworks like capability maturity model integration (CMMI) or the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) are vital for better performance and defect-free delivery of software engineering projects.ProblemThe studies from developing countries show that the organizations are unable to get the desired SPI benefits during early adaptation due to lack of benchmarking initiatives. These initiative needed bridging of the gap between major software engineering fields such as project performance, productivity, and SPI measurement metrics like effort, schedule, cost, productivity, quality, and customer satisfaction.MethodThis research quantifies SPI benefits by bridging the existing gaps and identifying a commonly defined set of 44 significant base metrics related to ESCPQC and applies a conceptual framework over the collected data of 62 projects from three leading software organizations.ResultThe results have quantified the “the introduction of change effect” and showed that the adaptation of SPI has shown SPI benefits like improved quality, customer satisfaction, and effort. In contrast, schedule metrics showed a high reduction at level 3 and again increased at high maturity levels values. The last benefits are communicated following a trustable mechanism.

CMMI Compliant Workflow Models to Track and Control Changes

The Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) is a renowned Software Process Improvement (SPI) framework. Research studies have revealed that CMMI adoption needs a lot of resources in terms of training, funds, and professional workers. However, the software SMEs (SSMEs) have few resources and cannot adopt CMMI. One of the challenges of adopting CMMI is that CMMI tells “What to do?” as requirements to be met, and leaves “How to do?” to the implementers. The software industry especially SSMEs faces difficulties in successfully implementing various process areas (PAs) particularly Configuration Management Process Area (CM-PA). SG-2 (Track and control changes) is one of the important Specific Goals (SGs) required by CMMI to successfully implement CM-PA. As a starting point, we have achieved this SG by implementing its two contributing Specific Practices (SPs). The proposed WFMs were validated through an Expert Panel Review (EPR) process. In addition, a case study approach was used for the evaluation. The results showed that the models are useful, easy to use, supportive in the achievement of SG-2, and applicable to SSMEs. It is worth mentioning that this research work has not only contributed to the implementation studies but also added to the empirical software engineering body of knowledge.

CMMI Compliant Workflow Models to Establish Configuration Management Integrity in Software SMEs

Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) is a world-renowned framework for software process improvement, which specifies “What-To-Do” in terms of requirements. However, it leaves the “How-To-Do” part regarding implementation to implementers. The software industry especially software SMEs (SSMEs) faces difficulties in implementing the Specific Practices (SPs) of Various Process Areas (PAs). Configuration Management Process Area (CM-PA) is usually ignored despite its acknowledged importance in the software development process. Establishing integrity is one of the three Specific Goals (SGs) that CMMI ver. 1.3 requires for successful implementation of CM-PA. This goal is achieved through the implementation of two SPs (i.e., 3.1 and 3.2). In order to enable aforesaid SSMEs, pertinent research work regarding the implementation of PAs at CMMI Level-II was studied and Workflow Models (WFMs) were devised after sifting through all the relevant material. The models were assessed through Expert Panel Review (EPR) and further confirmed by conducting case studies. This work also contributes to the implementation of CM-PA. The results from EPR and case studies are promising since they not only testifies the clarity, learnability, usability, usefulness of the models but also proves its applicability to SSMEs. The proposed WFMs have a strong theoretical basis and practically proven. More industrial case studies are suggested to evaluate models for the upcoming versions of CMMI frameworks.

An Integrated Software Development Method with built-in Software Process Improvement Framework

The concept of a startup is growing around the world where innovation is the major driving force. Managing such a small startup company from both technical and administrative perspective is a challenging issue. Though several approaches for software development, like the waterfall model, agile model, SCRUM model are available, it is difficult to implement such a model with full features due to limited number of resources, lack of experienced resources and lack of enough financial capability. The scopes of software process improvement are even narrower in a situation where they hardly manage or adapt a methodology. As a result, small companies suffer and work without a good quality framework model. Companies struggle to produce quality software. In this work, we have suggested an integrated software engineering methodology, in which, the process improvement framework is a built-in phenomenon. Our system is dubbed as 3D model, where the Ds stand for Design, Develop and Deploy. Design indicates the design of the product making as well as the process design. Develop and Deploy is also hinting to the product and process. The process improvement is managed through observation and management, which are fed back into the system through proper documentation. We did some client surveys, organization surveys, and observed work patterns of a group of human resources for a period. We measured some of the parameters before and after the implementation of 3D model. We found that implementation of 3D model gives an improved process and product development environment with no extra manpower or extra costing.

FLEX-RCA: a lean-based method for root cause analysis in software process improvement

Software process improvement (SPI) is an instrument to increase the productivity of, and the quality of work, in software organizations. However, a majority of SPI frameworks are too extensive or provide guidance and potential improvement areas at a high level, indicating only the symptoms, not the causes. Motivated by the industrial need of two Swedish automotive companies to systematically uncover the underlying root causes of high-level improvement issues identified in an SPI project—assessing inter-departmental interactions in large-scale software systems development—this paper advances a root cause analysis (RCA) method building on Lean Six Sigma, called Flex-RCA. Flex-RCA is used to delve deeper into challenges identified to find root causes as a part of the evaluation and subsequent improvement activities. We also demonstrate and evaluate Flex-RCA’s industrial applicability in a case study. An overall conclusion is that the use of Flex-RCA was successful, showing that it had the desired effect of both producing a broad base of causes on a high level and, more importantly, enabling an exploration of the underlying root causes.

A proposed Framework for Software Process Improvement: Extending CMMI-DEV model Using Six Sigma and Quality Function Deployment Techniques

Software Process Improvement (SPI) has become the key to the survival of many software development organizations. Many international SPI models/standards, such as; ISO, Capability Maturity Model Integrated (CMMI), SPICE, Trillium…etc, are developed for SPI. Numerous software development companies have chosen to utilize CMMI to access and improve their current software development process, because CMMI is one of the most widespread and acknowledged SPI models. Unfortunately, CMMI does not provide a systematic way of determining to improve the process. That is, CMMI defines what to but leaving how to do to organizations. Thus, it is desirable to have a means to guide the companies in the development of action plans and appropriate tools for SPI. These actions should be based on the software process requirements from relevant sources. Therefore, this research proposes a SPI-CMMI framework that provides an overall process improvement strategy to be implemented in any software development organization more effectively and comprehensively. The proposed model based on applying assessment and improvement procedures through adopting the CMMI-DEV 1.3 model using six sigma approach and Quality Function Deployment (QFD) technique.

Knowledge management in small software development organisations: A South African perspective

Background: Software organisations have been experiencing software development failures since the beginning of software development. Globally, latest Standish Group CHAOS reports indicate that only 29% of projects are successful. In South Africa (SA), the ITWeb report (2013) indicates that only 11% of all projects are successful. Intervention strategies such as software process improvement (SPI) frameworks and new software development methodologies such as agile methods have been introduced to address this issue. These intervention strategies do not seem to be effective because software development projects continue to fail. To address this issue, software organisations are turning to knowledge management (KM). This is because software development is a knowledge-intensive task.Objectives: The study aimed to investigate KM practices in small, medium and micro (SMMEs) software development organisations in SA and to determine if KM has benefited the organisations.Method: Fifteen software development project managers from 15 software development SMMEs were interviewed. Content analysis was used to analyse the data.Results: The study found six KM practices in the organisations: knowledge acquisition, creation, storage, sharing, organisation and application. The study found that KM has benefited organisations by making them effective, efficient and productive.Conclusions: The study concluded that software development organisation have adopted KM, although informally, and that KM practices have improved organisational routines and processes.

Software Process Improvement Frameworks as Alternative of CMMI for SMEs: A Literature Review

Software Process Improvement Frameworks as Alternative of CMMI for SMEs: A Literature Review

Toward a Simplified Software Process Improvement Framework for Small Software Development Organizations

ABSTRACTFor decades, software developers have struggled with delivering high-quality systems. To address the issues related to poor quality software, many use software process improvement (SPI) models such as the capability maturity model integration (CMMI) to guide the software development process. However, implementing these initiatives in small software development organizations is particularly challenging due to the high cost and complexity involved. To address these issues, this study proposes a simplified SPI framework (based on the CMMI) that small organizations can use to help improve software development. Conducted in four English-speaking Caribbean countries, this study uses focus groups with information systems (IS) professionals to arrive at a consensus on the content of a simplified SPI model. The model was assessed using data from a survey of small software development organizations’ practices across the four countries. The resulting model, called the SPI model for small organizations (SPIM-S) is deemed less cumbersome and complex to implement, in comparison to its counterpart, the CMMI. It should therefore be less disruptive to implement—offering practitioners an alternative guide in their quest for high-quality software.

A Systematic Literature Review of Agile Maturity Model Research

Background/Aim/Purpose: A commonly implemented software process improvement framework is the capability maturity model integrated (CMMI). Existing literature indicates higher levels of CMMI maturity could result in a loss of agility due to its organizational focus. To maintain agility, research has focussed attention on agile maturity models. The objective of this paper is to find the common research themes and conclusions in agile maturity model research. Methodology: This research adopts a systematic approach to agile maturity model research, using Google Scholar, Science Direct, and IEEE Xplore as sources. In total 531 articles were initially found matching the search criteria, which was filtered to 39 articles by applying specific exclusion criteria. Contribution:: The article highlights the trends in agile maturity model research, specifically bringing to light the lack of research providing validation of such models. Findings: Two major themes emerge, being the coexistence of agile and CMMI and the development of agile principle based maturity models. The research trend indicates an increase in agile maturity model articles, particularly in the latter half of the last decade, with concentrations of research coinciding with version updates of CMMI. While there is general consensus around higher CMMI maturity levels being incompatible with true agility, there is evidence of the two coexisting when agile is introduced into already highly matured environments. Future Research: Future research direction for this topic should include how to attain higher levels of CMMI maturity using only agile methods, how governance is addressed in agile environments, and whether existing agile maturity models relate to improved project success.

Lean quality improvement model for quality practices in software industry in Pakistan

AbstractImplementation of quality and achieving quality culture in small and medium software houses (SMSH) have been a subject of discussion among the industry. The existing software process improvement frameworks are too heavy for SMSH. There is a need of lean quality models that will help SMSH in establishing quality culture with minimal effort and resources. The objective of this research study is to map the environment and culture of SMSH in Pakistan towards quality improvement and process improvement by implementing total quality management philosophy. A lean quality improvement model (LQIM) consisting of four quality constructs and 10 quality practices has been proposed. The LQIM is validated using good fit indices in structural equation modeling. At the end, implementation of the proposed LQIM is explained using the Deming's philosophy of plan, do, check, act cycle for continuous process improvement. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A process capability based assessment model for software workforce in emergent software organizations

Software process improvement frameworks for software organizations enable to identify opportunities for improving the processes as well as establishing road maps for improvement. However, software process improvement practice showed that to achieve a sustained, leveraged state, software organizations need to focus on the workforce as much as the process. Software process improvement frameworks address the people dimension indirectly through processes. To complement process assessment models/methods, there is a need of mechanisms that address the problem of “how to assess, identify and prioritize detailed skill and knowledge improvement needs in relation to roles and processes of software organizations”. In this study, we developed a Software Workforce Assessment Model (SWAM) for emergent software organizations to perform role based workforce skill assessment aligned with software processes by coupling SW-CMM and SWEBOK models. SWAM is developed in accordance with the widely accepted assessment and evaluation theory principles. It is composed of an assessment baseline for software roles, criteria and scales for assessment. A SWAM based assessment process uses specific techniques such as Euclidian distance and dendogram diagrams to obtain useful results from data obtained from assessments. Through a case study, SWAM is shown to be applicable and the results are valuable for an emergent software organization. Specifically, the assessment enables the organization to identify priority knowledge units, to decide the extent of trainings for groups of individuals, to effectively assign project roles, to identify improvement priorities for the practitioners related to their roles and finally facilitates enactment and improvement of the software processes.

Leveraging Expertise to Support Scientific Software Process Improvement Decisions

As the complexity of scientific software increases, scientists are often expected to be experts in their own domain as well as in the construction and maintenance of their software. To support this paradigm, numerous specialized approaches have emerged. Leveraging the underlying expertise and motivational factors that drive scientific software development practices, the authors are developing a hybrid scientific software process improvement framework (SciSPIF) to allow scientific software developers to self-drive' their SE process improvement activities according to their own goals. Here, the authors report on the strategy for designing and building SciSPIF and provide preliminary insights.

Governing Software Process Improvementsin Globally Distributed Product Development

Continuous software process improvement (SPI) practices have been extensively prescribed to improve performance of software projects. However, SPI implementation mechanisms have received little scholarly attention, especially in the context of distributed software product development. We took an action research approach to study the SPI journey of a large multinational enterprise that adopted a distributed product development strategy. We describe the interventions and action research cycles enacted over a period of five years in collaboration with the firm, which resulted in a custom SPI framework that catered to both the social and technical needs of the firm's distributed teams. Institutionalizing the process maturity framework got stalled initially because the SPI initiatives were perceived by product line managers as a mechanism for exercising wider controls by the firm's top management. The implementation mechanism was subsequently altered to co-opt product line managers, which contributed to a wider adoption of the SPI framework. Insights that emerge from our analysis of the firm's SPI journey pertain to the integration of the technical and social views of software development, preserving process diversity through the use of a multi-tiered, non-blueprint approach to SPI, the linkage between key process areas and project control modes, and the role of SPI in aiding organizational learning.

Proposal and practice of software process improvement framework – Toshiba's software process improvement history since 2000

SUMMARYFor the effective promotion of software process improvement (SPI) activities in a large organization, it is necessary to establish an organizational structure and a deployment method for promotion and to develop training courses, support tools, and other materials. Even if an organizational promotion system is established, the SPI activities of each development department cannot be promoted effectively without an SPI community. To promote SPI activities throughout Toshiba Group, we organized a Corporate Software Engineering Process Group in April 2000. We also proposed an SPI framework. This framework extracts the features of organizations in which improvement activities were successful in the 1990s and combines them systematically. For over 10 years, we have been constructing Toshiba's SPI framework based on the SPI framework that we proposed and promoting process improvement activities using it. As a result, maturity levels were improved in many development departments, and the applicability of the SPI framework has been confirmed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

QRP: A CMMI Appraisal Tool for Project Quality Management

Organizations adopt software process improvement (SPI) frameworks for developing higher-quality software more efficiently. CMMI is one of the most widely used SPI frameworks; however, software tools that provide a higher automation level are required. In this paper, the QRP platform, which guides and evaluates conformance to a CMMI level, is presented. The main innovation provided by the platform is the automation of the CMMI level assessment using evidences collected during day-to-day project development, facilitating the appraisal of CMMI to a great extent.

Software metrics for effective project management

Metrics definition and analysis method selection is often not accorded due importance. Metrics and analysis methods are routinely selected to satisfy requirements of software process improvement frameworks such as CMMI. Considerable time and effort is spent in collecting metrics and analyzing them without realizing the benefits of the measurement and analysis effort. This may be attributed to inadequate understanding of the link between the selected metrics and the underlying processes. The inappropriate selection of analysis method may also be due to lack of understanding about the desired monitoring and control actions. This paper discusses the benefits of choosing appropriate metrics and analysis method based on observations in several organizations. It also discusses the pitfalls of choosing wrong metrics.

PRACTICE SELECTION FRAMEWORK

Knowledge management (KM) in software engineering and software process improvement (SPI) are challenging. Most existing KM and SPI frameworks are too expensive to deploy or do not take an organization's specific needs or knowledge into consideration. There is thus a need for scalable improvement approaches that leverage knowledge already residing in the organizations.This paper presents the Practice Selection Framework (PSF), an Experience Factory approach, enabling lightweight experience capture and use by utilizing postmortem reviews. Experiences gathered concern performance and applicability of practices used in the organization, gained from concluded projects. Project managers use these as decision support for selecting practices to use in future projects, enabling explicit knowledge transfer across projects and the development organization as a whole. Process managers use the experiences to determine if there is potential for improvement of practices used in the organization. This framework was developed and subsequently validated in industry to get feedback on usability and usefulness from practitioners. The validation consisted of tailoring and testing the framework using real data from the organization and comparing it to current practices used in the organization to ensure that the approach meets industry needs. The results from the validation are encouraging and the participants' assessment of PSF and particularly the tailoring developed was positive.

Addressing a critical success factor for software projects: A multi-round Delphi study of TSP

A five-round Delphi study was conducted to determine the degree to which the Team Software Process (TSP) can address the identified critical success factors for software projects. Three high-reputation and high-calibre experts participated in this study. Our results found agreement among the experts that the TSP provided the ‘Best Practises’ for addressing 14 critical success factors. The experts also agreed that the TSP provided a ‘Very Good’ framework for addressing 4 critical success factors. Our findings further suggested that 6 critical success factors were addressed by the TSP at a ‘Good’ level; only 1 critical success factor was addressed to a limited degree and none of the critical success factors were addressed at the ‘Fair’ level. The only critical success factor not addressed by the TSP was the ‘good performance by vendors/contractors/consultants’ factor. From an expert’s perspective, the TSP provides an operational framework that addresses 21 critical success factors software projects. We believe that each framework or method on its own cannot address all the identified critical success factors. However, by combining a software process improvement and project management framework or other excellent software development process models, all of the critical success factors can be better addressed. Key words: Team Software Process (TSP), critical success factors, Delphi study, software process improvement, software development, project management.