Achieving business excellence in software quality management

Many companies have had difficulties in achieving success with software process improvement initiatives or have had adverse experiences in implementing quality systems. With a plethora of standards available and the numerous frameworks to apply best practice, none appears to act as a panacea to guarantee fulfilment or realise a true Return-on-Investment. This thesis proposes a holistic approach to software process improvement, describing a range of supporting tools and methods highlighting a true understanding of the customer base and associated cultures. The research aim was to develop and evaluate a demonstrably effective and efficient software quality management methodology suitable for a technical company such as AWE plc. To be effective the methodology must deliver an improved conformance to the quality standards and deliver real process improvement. To be efficient the methodology must deliver a real Return-on-Investment. Case studies on the implementation of the quality system were carried out at AWE plc. Each case study provided a further opportunity to measure and analyse the success or otherwise of that method or tool for further refinement. Audits, self-assessment, training, system design, marketing, and the people skills associated with a consultation process are all examined in detail. The research methodology has demonstrated its success as case studies show that steady improvement in implementing the software quality system has occurred year on year. This success has been validated by third party ISO 9001 assessments and has led to an enhancement in AWE plc reputation as a centre of software excellence. The approach has overcome cultural resistance and changed working practices. With a philosophy of customer care, consultation, and active engagement, practitioners now adopt best-practice quality management principles. The cost effectiveness of this methodology means its adoption could be considered by any organisation whether large or small

Achieving business excellence in software quality management

Many companies have had difficulties in achieving success with software process improvement initiatives or have had adverse experiences in implementing quality systems. With a plethora of standards available and the numerous frameworks to apply best practice, none appears to act as a panacea to guarantee fulfilment or realise a true Return-on-Investment. This paper proposes a holistic approach to software process improvement, describing a range of supporting tools and methods highlighting a true understanding of the customer base and associated cultures. The research aim was to develop and evaluate a demonstrably effective and efficient software quality management methodology suitable for a technical company. To be effective the methodology must deliver real process improvement conformance to the best practice quality standards. To be efficient the methodology must deliver a real Return-on-Investment. A range of case studies are described including audits, self-assessment, training, system design, marketing, and the people skills associated with a consultation process are all examined in detail. Each case study provided a further opportunity to measure and analyse the success or otherwise of that method for further refinement. The research methodology has demonstrated its success as the data collected during these case studies show that steady improvement in implementing the software quality system has occurred year on year. This success has been validated by third party ISO 9001 assessments and has led to an enhancement in reputation. The approach has overcome cultural resistance and changed working practices. With a philosophy of customer care, consultation, and active engagement, practitioners adopt best-practice quality management principles. The cost effectiveness of this methodology means its adoption could be considered by any organisation whether large or small

Proceedings of the 1st international workshop on software process education, training and professionalism (SPETP 2015)

These Proceedings contain the papers accepted for publication and presentation at the first 1st International Workshop on Software Process Education, Training and Professionalism (SPETP 2015) held in conjunction with the 15th International Conference on Software Process Improvement and Capability dEtermination (SPICE 2015), Gothenburg, Sweden, during June 15-17, 2015. During the 14th International Conference on Software Process Improvement and Capability dEtermination (SPICE 2014) held in Vilnius, Lithuania, at a post conference dinner, a group of key individuals from education and industry started to discuss the challenges faced for software process education, training and professionalism, especially with the background of the new modes of learning and teaching in higher education. Further discussions held post conference with key players in the relevant professional and personal certification fields led to a consensus that it is time for the industry to rise to the new challenges and set out in a manifesto a common vision for educators and trainers together with a set of recommendations to address the challenges faced. It was therefore agreed co-located the 1st International Workshop on Software Process Education, Training and Professionalism with the 15th International Conference on Software Process Improvement and Capability dEtermination. This workshop focused on the new challenges for and best practices in software process education, training and professionalism. The foundation for learning of software process should be part of a university or college education however software process is often treated as ‘add one’ module to the core curriculum. In a professional context, whilst there have been a number of initiatives focused on the certification related to the software process professional these have had little success for numerous reasons. Cooperation in education between industry, academia and professional bodies is paramount, together with the recognition of how the education world is changing and how education is resourced, delivered (with online and open learning) and taken up. Over the next 10 years on-line learning is projected to grow fifteen fold, accounting for 30% of all education provision, according to the recent report to the European Commission on New modes of learning and teaching in higher education. It is a great pleasure to see the varied contributions to this 1st International Workshop on Software Process Education, Training and Professionalism and we hope that our joint dedication, passion and innovation will lead to success for the profession through the publication of the manifesto as a key outcome from the workshop. On behalf of the SPETP 2015 conference Organizing Committee, we would like to thank all participants. Firstly all the authors, whose quality work is the essence of the conference, and the members of the Program Committee, who helped us with their expertise and diligence in reviewing all of the submissions. As we all know, organizing a conference requires the effort of many individuals. We wish to thank also all the members of our Organizing Committee, whose work and commitment were invaluable

El mejoramiento del proceso de software como un habilitador de la de auto-producción organizacional

Las compañías de software son un tema actual en la economía mundial. Dichas compañías están encargadas de la mayoría de los desarrollos en tecnologías de la información y para tener un desempeño adecuado deben mejorar su propia organización. El mejoramiento del proceso de software (SPI por sus siglas en inglés) es un factor clave que permite a las compañías de software crecer y mejorar. Este proceso ha sido analizado principalmente como un proceso técnico, dejando de lado el factor humano y organizacional. Además en la literatura se ha encontrado una carencia en la reflexión teórica sobre cómo puede ser analizado este proceso. Trabajos recientes indican que el SPI puede ser analizado como un cambio organizacional. Las organizaciones pueden ser vistas como organismos vivos que crecen y evolucionan basados en la teoría de la autopoiesis o los sistemas auto-productivos. Si una compañía de software es entendida como un sistema autopoiético, el SPI puede ser visto como un proceso que habilita la auto-producción organizacional. El objetivo de este trabajo es proveer una primera aproximación al entendimiento del SPI como un habilitador del proceso auto-productivo organizacional, es decir, describir este proceso a la luz de una nueva teoría con el fin de crear una base para entender el desarrollo de este y proveer de nuevas perspectivas a futuros trabajos en el área.Abstract. Software companies are a growing trend in world economy. They are in charge of most IT related developments and in order to deliver a proper product to their costumers they have to improve their own organization. Software Process Improvement (SPI) is a key factor that allows software companies to grow and improve their organization. This process has been mainly treated as a technical process, leaving aside the human factor. Although, in the literature it has been found a lack of a theoretical reflection about how could be analyzed this process. Recent works indicate that SPI could be analyzed as an organizational change. Also organizations can be seen as living organisms that grow and evolve based on the idea of autopoiesis or self-producing systems. If a software company is understood as a self-producing system, the SPI can be seen as a self-producing process. The goal of this work is to provide a first approach in the understanding of SPI as enabler of the organization self-production process, that is to say, describe this process in the light of a new theory in order to create a basis for understanding its development and provide new perspectives for future research in this area.Maestrí