Towards Disciplined Software Development : ISO 9001:2008 Based Software Process Improvement in SME

The case company’s quality management system has recently been awarded the ISO 9001:2008 certificate. The next necessary step is to incorporate the software processes into the company’s quality management system. The goal of this study was to identify the key software process improvement areas based the ISO 9001:2008 requirements and to provide recommended actions for improvement. Sufficient background knowledge on quality in general and quality in the context of SMEs and software was gained and ISO 9001:2008 and its application in the context of software was studied. Based on the gained knowledge methods and models for assessing the current software processes and deriving the recommended improvement actions were selected and developed. A self-assessment was performed and respective improvement actions were derived and presented. The self-assessment results indicated that the software processes would need to be redesigned from the ground up. Hence, recommendations targeted on key software process areas could not be derived. Alternatively, an example process based on the Disciplined Agile Delivery framework was presented for the company to consider when the software process is redesigned. Even though the results of the assessment were not what was expected the study itself provides a sound basis for software process improvement efforts in the future. Plenty of valuable knowledge and experience on software process improvement was gained which will to serve the case company well in the future

Engineering automated systems for pharmaceutical manufacturing: quality, regulations and business performance

The pharmaceutical sector is very heavily regulated Drug safety regulations form one of the pillars of this regulation. The manufacture of pharmaceuticals is carried out in an environment of onerous regulatory requirements, often from several national and international regulatory bodies. The quality systems operated by drug manufacturers and their regulatory practices have an important impact on product quality. The quality and regulatory requirements apply not only to handling of the medicinal products, but also to the physical and electronic systems used in the manufacture of those products, and extend to automated systems used to support quality assurance operations. Design, development, building and support of such systems are ultimately the responsibility of the drug manufacturer. The quality and regulatory requirements for automated systems are passed down the supply chain to suppliers. In the last two decades of the 20th century there has been a proliferation in the use of computerised and automated systems for use in, or to support manufacturing. Correspondingly, regulatory requirements have been imposed on the manufacturing industry. This work used survey research and factor analysis to establish relationships between quality and regulatory practices, and between both quality and regulatory practices and business performance for suppliers of automated systems into the pharmaceutical market. A survey instrument and an administration strategy were developed from a review of the literature. It was established empirically that quality practices and regulatory practices were strongly related. Specific facets of quality practices and regulatory practices were found to have had a significant impact on both market share and competitiveness expectations and also profit and sales expectations. Differences in practices and performance were established for various levels of automation complexity and criticality, where criticality was a function of the risk the respondent’s system posed to the manufacture of their customer’s products

Why do people buy virtual items in virtual worlds? an empirical test of a conceptual model

While organizations in software industry want to portray themselves as professional in terms of following standards and methods, they may also have needs for improvising and short-cutting when necessary. Such dilemmas of dual logics are sometimes internally resolved by evolving a false belief of what is done (practice) being in correspondence to what is said (standards), regardless of what an empirical investigation might show, something that can have poor business implications and also poor social implications. Particularly focusing on this latter point, the meta-methodology of total systems interventions (TSI) has been used for integrating critical systems theory with total quality management, improving social conditions in parallel with improving business processes. Although TSI is not designed for liberating organizations where nobody see themselves in need of liberation, the hypothesis of this paper is that it is possible to design quality management systems as “conflict machines”, causing sufficient social tension for more or less automatically changing “fake quality” into “real quality”. The hypothesis is investigated by applying design research in a Scandinavian public sector organization. The findings consist of statistical and interpretative evidence for the success of the approach, making a contribution to how TSI can be applied in the software industry

Software process quality models: a comparative evaluation

Numerous software processes are implemented by software organisations in the production and maintenance of software products. Varying levels of success are observed in their execution, as processes vary in content and quality. A number of quality models for software processes have been published, each of which is intended to encompass the totality of quality factors and issues relevant to a specific notion of process quality. These quality models may be used to develop a new process, measure the quality of existing processes, or guide improvement of existing processes. It is therefore desirable that mechanisms exist to select the model of highest intrinsic quality and greatest relevance. In this thesis, mechanisms are proposed for the comparative evaluation of software process quality models. Case studies are performed in which existing software process quality models are applied to existing software processes. Case study results are used in empirical evaluation of models to augment theoretical evaluation results. Specific recommendations are made for selection of models against typical selection criteria. Assessment is performed of the assessment procedures against defined success criteria. Theoretical evaluation procedures are developed to measure process quality models against defined quality criteria. Measurements are performed of conformance of models to the requirements set for an ideal process quality model, and the relevance of model content to defined stakeholders in software processes. Comparison is also made of the scope and size of models. Empirical evaluation procedures are developed to assess model performance in the context of application to real software processes. These procedures assess the extent to which the results of process measurement using process quality models are observed to differ, and hence the importance of selecting one model in preference to others. Measurement is also performed of the extent of difference in the software processes evaluated in the case studies

Challenges to IS quality

Investing in quality was popular in the early 1990s. Several approaches were developed, but it seems that none of them provides a solution that is generally accepted and adequately detailed for both scientific and practical purposes within the IS field. We claim that most quality approaches concentrate too much on the technical and control oriented aspects of managing quality thus causing unsatisfactory results. There is a need and a demand for better quality practice that can be attained through cooperation between practitioners and researchers. This paper discusses these challenges to IS quality and presents some suggestions for bridging the gap. </p

Business excellence as a success factor for the performance of large Croatian enterprises

Croatian companies need a new approach that will provide them with sufficient competitive strength, based on business excellence. Focusing only on financial indicators and measures is insufficient. Therefore new concepts should be introduced, especially by large companies that are traditionally inert and exposed to global competition, and situated in the countries with ongoing transition, such as Croatia. Today 75% of the source of value within a company cannot be measured by means of the standard accounting techniques anymore, and in the 21st century it is impossible to rely exclusively on measuring financial parameters. According to the authors, in addition to financial measuring, a way should be found to measure non-financial parameters within a company. The paper is therefore aimed at exploring the influence of business excellence and its values on business in the Croatian business practice. The authors carried out a research on 106 large Croatian enterprises with more than 250 employees, exploring the connection between the values of business excellence and company performance, Results show a positive correlation between applying the principles of business excellence and successful company performance in practice

Framework of Six Sigma implementation analysis on SMEs in Malaysia for information technology services, products and processes

For the past two decades, the majority of Malaysia’s IT companies have been widely adopting a Quality Assurance (QA) approach as a basis for self-improvement and internal-assessment in IT project management. Quality Control (QC) is a comprehensive top-down observation approach used to fulfill requirements for quality outputs which focuses on the aspect of process outputs evaluation. However in the Malaysian context, QC and combination of QA and QC as a means of quality improvement approaches have not received significant attention. This research study aims to explore the possibility of integrating QC and QA+QC approaches through Six Sigma quality management standard to provide tangible and measureable business results by continuous process improvement to boost customer satisfactions. The research project adopted an exploratory case study approach on three Malaysian IT companies in the business area of IT Process, IT Service and IT Product. Semi-structured interviews, online surveys, self-administered questionnaires, job observations, document analysis and on-the-job-training are amongst the methodologies employed in these case studies. These collected data and viewpoints along with findings from an extensive literature review were used to benchmark quality improvement initiatives, best practices and to develop a Six Sigma framework for the context of the SMEs in the Malaysian IT industry. This research project contributed to both the theory and practice of implementing and integrating Six Sigma in IT products, services and processes. The newly developed framework has been proven capable of providing a general and fundamental start-up decision by demonstrating how a company with and without formal QIM can be integrated and implemented with Six Sigma practices to close the variation gap between QA and QC. This framework also takes into consideration those companies with an existing QIM for a new face-lift migration without having to drop their existing QIM. This can be achieved by integrating a new QIM which addresses most weaknesses of the current QIM while retaining most of the current business routine strengths. This framework explored how Six Sigma can be expanded and extended to include secondary external factors that are critical to successful QIM implementation. A vital segment emphasizes Six Sigma as a QA+QC approach in IT processes; and the ability to properly manage IT processes will result in overall performance improvement to IT Products and IT Services. The developed Six Sigma implementation framework can serve as a baseline for SMEs to better manage, control and track business performance and product quality; and at the same time creates clearer insights and un-biased views of Six Sigma implementation onto the IT industries to drive towards operational excellence

Software Quality: Concepts, Problems and Tools for Improving

In this paper, we discuss the concept and principles of the total quality management (TQM). The paper describes the main Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) models and pros and cons of each one. In addition, overview measures of quality during SDLC. Finally, the paper describes the software quality problems and how to achieve TQM via defect prevention. Keywords: Quality; quality management; SDLC; software development; total quality management

Development of an integrated safety, health and environmental management capability maturity model for Ghanaian construction companies

With high rates of accidents, injuries, illnesses, negative environmental impacts and other well-being issues still recorded in the construction sector, as well its social and economic impacts, the need for safety health and environmental (SHE) improvement has become critical. Management systems, particularly environmental management systems (EMS) and safety management systems (SHMS), have been identified as innovative and systematic approaches for companies to manage SHE risks effectively in order to improve their SHE performance. However, the adoption and implementation of EMS and SHMS in the construction sector, particularly in developing countries like Ghana, has been slow and generally low, mainly due to cost and the bureaucracy that comes with the parallel implementation of standalone management systems. There is, therefore, a need for an integrated SHE management framework for effective SHE risks management and control in the construction sector. However, there is no single integrated SHE management framework for construction organisations to use, especially those within developing countries. Neither is there any mechanism by which construction companies can ascertain their capability in implementing integrated SHE management in order to guide efforts to improve their SHE performance. This research was undertaken to develop an integrated SHE management capability maturity model (SHEM-CMM) that can be used by construction firms in the Ghanaian construction industry.To achieve the aim of the study, a quantitative research approach was adopted. It involved a comprehensive literature review to generate potential capability attributes relevant to integrated SHE management. Following the literature review, a survey of experienced SHE experts was undertaken in order to verify the suitability of the identified integrated SHE management capability attributes. Subsequently, a three-round Delphi technique was undertaken with experienced SHE management experts (round 1 n=41, round 2 n=31 and round 3 n=30) and accompanied by the application of voting analytical hierarchy process, to ascertain the relative weight/priority of the capability attributes. This study found 20 integrated SHE management capability attributes which are clustered into five categories, namely: strategy; process; people; resources; and information. Collectively, the attributes within the ‘strategy’ category are the most important, followed by the ‘people’ and then ‘process’ attributes. Drawing on the capability maturity concept, an integrated SHE management capability maturity model (SHEM-CMM) was developed. The model is composed of 20 integrated SHE management capability attributes which are mapped on to five levels of capability maturity ranging from Level 1 to Level 5, and with each level having a distinct maturity level descriptor. The integrated SHEM-CMM was then validated by 59 construction professionals including SHE experts in construction companies operating in the Ghanaian construction industry in order to ensure the adequacy and practical usefulness of the model. This research has contributed to the existing body of knowledge on SHE management by establishing integrated SHE management capability attributes and their relative weight of importance. Furthermore, the research has developed a novel integrated SHEM-CMM which has practical usefulness in the construction industry. The model provides a systematic approach for SHE management capability evaluation and improvement in construction. It is anticipated that the developed capability maturity model would be used by construction firms to systematically assess their SHE management capability and identify ways to further improve their SHE management in order to obtain better SHE performance outcomes

Total Quality Management Benefits and Barriers in Construction Industry

The building sector is playing an important part Major factor in any country's development. The Construct industry growth depends on Building project efficiency. Quality is one thing Important factor in construction industry success in this paper the problems of quality definition in the construction industry are discussed, analysis potential advantages of quality implementation and considers quality barriers to Building implementation. Many implementing obstacles. We identify recent patterns that could lead to the Invade barriers. However, the various building actors must Know that improvement is necessary for the construction industry to improve quality TQM is specifically designed to deliver excellence in customer satisfaction by continual improvement full participation of product and processes every person who is a part of dedication that product/process. It's an orchestrated approach enhancement. If implemented correctly, it will support the Company of construction to boost its efficiency