Software Process Improvement Models Research Articles

Analysis of the use of software process improvement models in agile development

Analysis of the use of software process improvement models in agile development

Comparative Analysis of Software Process Improvement Models

This paper presents a comprehensive comparative analysis of four leading process improvement models: CMMI, ISO, Lean and Six Sigma. The objective is to evaluate and compare these models to determine their effectiveness in optimizing organizational processes. Using a qualitative method of analysis, the study breaks down each model based on standardized criteria, including complexity of implementation, performance metrics, and applicability across industries. The results highlight the unique strengths and limitations of each model and provide a nuanced understanding of their operational impact. The study provides a detailed guide for organizations to select an appropriate model tailored to their specific process improvement needs

Influence of organizational life cycle on performance management design in the software industry

PurposeThis work investigates the influence of the organizational life cycle (OLC) on the performance management system (PMS) design and the performance of projects in Brazilian industries of software development.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed descriptive statistics and structural equations modeling on the data and information obtained from 115 Brazilian industries of software development with maturity in project management. Data collection was carried out through a survey applied to managers of the organizations mapped and certified by management maturity models Brazilian software process improvement (MPS-BR) or capability maturity model integration (CMMI).FindingsResults revealed that OLC influences the PMS design dimensions (scope, aggregation and opportunity) and project performance. Regarding effects observed on the performance of projects, only the scope dimension's influence was validated by the analyses, and the other dimensions were not significant considering the investigated sample.Originality/valueThe paper shows evidence of how OLC can influence PMS design and project performance. The analyses can help managers to improve their actions in the PMS design, increasing confidence and generating more robust and sustainable results in the business model.

Knowledge-Driven Software Project Management Based on IDEAL Cycle

In recent years, aerospace products’ development has more needs for localization, integration and intellectualization, so how to improved efficiency and reliability of software development through optimizing the management modes has become the major challenge. This paper proposes a design idea of transforming the task-driven management model to a knowledge-driven management model based on the software process improvement model(IDEAL cycle). By combining the improvement process of IDEAL cycle with the knowledge-driven management activities, it achieves a knowledge-driven software project management model based on IDEAL cycle. The practice results show that, through the implementation of the program, the software team are promoted to achieve the acquisition, storage, sharing, exchange, application and innovation of knowledge while implementing software process improvement, the process capability and core competitiveness of the team are fully enhanced. The requirements of software process improvement and the knowledge-driven design are fully taken into account in program design, and its generalized workflow engine and platform function have great promotion value and applicable to other knowledge-based enterprises.

A cloud software life cycle process (CSLCP) model

Small to medium-sized enterprises take advantage of the strengths and opportunities of cloud computing. These enterprises require a well-defined software process model to produce reliable and quality cloud software, given their limited resources. Existing related work is surveyed, and the needed missing features are determined. A cloud software life cycle process model is proposed, validated, and verified to handle the shortcomings of existing cloud software process models. A case study is used to illustrate all the activities required throughout the software life cycle of the proposed model. The proposed cloud software life cycle process model is a cyclic iterative prototyping model. It is compatible with levels two and three of the capability maturity model integration and extends the Egyptian software process improvement model to fit the cloud environment. The model helps small enterprises develop quality, maintainable, and sustainable cloud software at a reasonable cost.

The challenges of capability maturity model integration application in the dynamic environment

The capability maturity model integration for development (CMMI-DEV) model is a software process improvement (SPI) model designed to leverage the level of software products' quality. Through modelling highly organised, controlled and continuously improved processes, CMMI-DEV enhances the organisational and functional capabilities to guarantee a competitive advantage. However, software organisations face strong competitive dynamic environment challenges due to the fast-fierce changing environmental variables such as the instable customer perspectives. Without resolving such challenges, the sustainability of software organisations is questionable. CMMI-DEV v1.3 model cannot deal with the changing dynamic environment, thus, lacks dynamic capabilities (DC). These capabilities can handle dynamic environmental factors and thus adding economic value to the organisation. However, DC with CMMI-DEV v1.3 are either not integrated or are applied in isolation. To address this issue, we propose a new model that integrates CMMI-DEV v1.3 and the DC model. DC component adds knowledge absorbing and sensing processes, which helps organisations to reshape and reallocate their resources to seize opportunities and manage threats. The model was validated using knowledge literature review and experts' judgement via Delphi technique. Results show that the new model addressed the shortcomings of CMMI-DEV v1.3 and is applicable in today's environment.

Enabling and Limiting factors in eXtreme Programming (XP) with Evaluation Framework

As agile software development methodologies are used in many domains and come with different shapes and sizes, it is one of the complex human endeavors. Extreme Programming (XP) is one of the well-known agile software development methodologies and is driven by a set of values including simplicity, communication, feedback and courage, but lacks the mechanism to measure these values demanding the evaluation framework to make it measurable and attainable. The main aim of this study is to build the software process improvement model that can be used for evaluating XP values and practices. The proposed XP evaluation framework in this study is XP focused and evaluates the XP project, product and practices. The XP evaluation framework is a collection of some new and validated metrics used for evaluating XP projects, XP practices, XP products and some additional factors concerned with XP. The evaluation framework for extreme programming is basically based on the assessment and evaluation of various project characteristics, extreme programming characteristics, product characteristics and other additional characteristics. The metrics used for assessments and evaluations of XP are designed to be simple, precise, understandable, economical, timely, consistent, accountable, unambiguous, suitable and reliable.

Automotive SPICE: 0-60 in No Time Flat

My company is very good at executing the Automotive Software Process Improvement and Capability Determination (ASPICE) process model for software development. We have delivered Automotive SPICE-grade software for many years to top original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and have a long history of successful implementations. That being said, sometimes automotive solutions need to be delivered from an organization outside of the teams that are entrenched in the processes required to meet ASPICE requirements. We were challenged to bring up one of these teams in late 2018 to ensure compliance, adoption and rollout of the ASPICE process for multiple teams spread around the world. This took a bit of coordination and travel, but by mid-December the teams passed the audit and continue to drive improvements to attain even higher-levels of compliance and maturity.

CMMI-DEV Implementation Simplified

With the advance technology and increase in customer requirements, software organizations pursue to reduce cost and increase productivity by using standards and best practices. The Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) is a software process improvement model that enhances productivity and reduces time and cost of running projects. As a reference model, CMMI does not specify systemic steps of how to implement the model practices, leaving a room for organization development approaches. Small organizations with low budgets and those who are not looking for CMMI appraisals cannot cope with the high price of CMMI implementation. However, they need to manage the risk of CMMI implementation under their administration. Therefore, this paper proposes a simplified plan using the spiral model to implement the CMMI to reach level 2. The objective is to make the implementation more straightforward to implement and fit CMMI specification without hiring external experts. Compared to related implementation frameworks, the proposed model is deemed competitive and applicable under organizations’ conditions.

Visualizing composition and behavior of the ISO/IEC 33000 assessment framework through a multi-layer model

Software Process Improvement (SPI) models are a very important topic for SPI practitioners and software engineering students hence is required to improve comprehension about process assessment models. This paper proposes a visual tracking of the ISO/IEC 33000 Assessment Framework through a multi-layered representational model describing the standard in a highly practical way via structural and behavioral views and graphical reporting. This kind of representation comprises several semantic layers according to model dimensions and including, besides an additional dimension for specifying measurements. The structural elements of the model are assigned on distinct layers and connected among them with connectors of dependence and co-occurrence when applying the Assessment Model to software processes. The representation model was tested by software developers, academic experts and software students.

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.

Software Process Improvement Models and their Comparison

Software Process Improvement (SPI) involved the practical actions to improve the processes in the organizations to make their business goals more effective. The main objective of SPI is to set methods in such a way that it improves the software development process. To implement the methods of software process improvement, there are some methods which help in understanding those methods. These models are known as Software Process Improvement Model. This paper includes study of some important software process improvement models and a comparative analysis is done between these models. Some limitations of these SPI models are also discussed in this paper.

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.

Productivity paradoxes revisited

The adoption of quality assurance methods based on software process improvement models has been regarded as an important source of variability in software productivity. Some companies perceive that their implementation has prohibitive costs, whereas some authors identify in their use a way to comply with software development patterns and standards, produce economic value and lead to corporate performance improvement. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between quality maturity levels and labor productivity, using a data set containing 687 Brazilian software firms. We study here the relationship between labor productivity, as measured through the annual gross revenue per worker ratio, and quality levels, which were appraised from 2006 to 2012 according to two distinct software process improvement models: MPS.BR and CMMI. We perform independent statistical tests using appraisals carried out according to each of these models, consequently obtaining a data set with as many observations as possible, in order to seek strong support for our research. We first show that MPS.BR and CMMI appraised quality maturity levels are correlated, but we find no statistical evidence that they are related to higher labor productivity or productivity growth. On the contrary, we present evidence suggesting that average labor productivity is higher in software companies without appraised quality levels. Moreover, our analyses suggest that companies with appraised quality maturity levels are more or less productive depending on factors such as their business nature, main origin of capital and maintained quality level.

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

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.

PAM‐SMEs: process assessment method for small to medium enterprises

AbstractSeveral software process improvement (SPI) standard models have been invented since the last decades, for example, CMMI, SPICE, and CMM. Most of these models had to be tailored by several researchers in order to be applied within Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs). This is mainly due to their environmental challenges such as resources. In addition to this, the SPI models including the current standard model the CMMI are not considering tailoring their SPI program to business objectives. Achieving business objectives is the main recipe for business success. Therefore, this research (PAM‐SMEs) is setup to tailor SPI program to business objectives within SMEs environmental challenges. Key features of the PAM‐SMEs are as follows: the use of simplified and tailorable assessment techniques and data collection tool based on the CMMI; and then prioritizing the outcome of the assessment to the SMEs business objectives by the use of prioritization technique. The PAM‐SMEs was applied within three partner SMEs, and the overall evaluation shows that the PAM‐SMEs help to drive their SPI program toward their business objectives with the available resources. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Software process improvement: a systematic mapping study on the state of the art

Software process improvement (SPI) has been around for decades: frameworks are proposed, success factors are studied, and experiences have been reported. However, the sheer mass of concepts, approaches, and standards published over the years overwhelms practitioners as well as researchers. What is out there? Are there new trends and emerging approaches? What are open issues? Still, we struggle to answer these questions about the current state of SPI and related research. In this article, we present results from an updated systematic mapping study to shed light on the field of SPI, to develop a big picture of the state of the art, and to draw conclusions for future research directions. An analysis of 769 publications draws a big picture of SPI-related research of the past quarter-century. Our study shows a high number of solution proposals, experience reports, and secondary studies, but only few theories and models on SPI in general. In particular, standard SPI models like CMMI and ISO/IEC 15,504 are analyzed, enhanced, and evaluated for applicability in practice, but these standards are also critically discussed, e.g., from the perspective of SPI in small-to-medium-sized companies, which leads to new specialized frameworks. New and specialized frameworks account for the majority of the contributions found (approx. 38%). Furthermore, we find a growing interest in success factors (approx. 16%) to aid companies in conducting SPI and in adapting agile principles and practices for SPI (approx. 10%). Beyond these specific topics, the study results also show an increasing interest into secondary studies with the purpose of aggregating and structuring SPI-related knowledge. Finally, the present study helps directing future research by identifying under-researched topics awaiting further investigation.

Identifying relevant product quality characteristics in the context of very small organizations

Software process improvement models have been developed to support very small organizations in achieving the software quality expected by their customers. Software quality, however, allows to be studied from process and product perspectives. The aim of this work is to attain insights into the extent to which the product quality view is addressed in very small organizations. A mapping method was therefore applied in order to identify whether the product quality characteristics described in ISO/IEC 25010 are included in the ISO/IEC 29110 basic profile, a process model targeted towards very small organizations. In addition, an empirical study was conducted to discover the quality characteristics that practitioners at very small organizations consider relevant. As a result, it was found that practices in ISO/IEC 29110 are consistent as regards functional correctness quality subcharacteristic, although practitioners are also considering additional product quality characteristics.

Crafting a software process improvement approach-a retrospective systematization

Structured approaches are beneficial for successful software process improvement SPI. However, process engineers often struggle with standardized SPI methods, such as capability maturity model integration CMMI or International Organization for Standardization ISO 15504, and complain about too generic or voluminous approaches or methods that are alien to the organizations in which SPI is conducted. Therefore, process engineers need to customize existing SPI models or develop new approaches for company-specific SPI programs. While conducting SPI in the context of the German V-Modell XT, we faced the need to develop a new method for artifact-based SPI. In the process, we found that the construction procedures of SPI models are barely documented, and thus, their successful adaptation solely depends on the process engineers' expertise. With this article, we aim to address this lack of support and provide a structured reflection on our experiences from creating and adopting the Artifact-based Software Process Improvement & Management ArSPI model. We present the steps of the construction procedure, the validation, and the dissemination of the model. Furthermore, we detail on the applied methods, the design decisions, and the challenges encountered. By providing a reference procedure and tested methods, we support process engineers with the creation and adoption of SPI approaches. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Process Improvement from an Academic Perspective: How Could Software Engineering Education Contribute to CMMI Practices?

Educating software engineers is a longstanding challenge, but the results of examining the overlap between software engineering educational standards (SE 2004 and GSwE 2009) and one of the most well-known software process improvement models (CMMI-DEV) could prove useful to both industry and academia.