Capability Maturity Model Integration (Cmmi) for Small Organizations

Software Process Improvement (SPI) is a large area of expertise that deals with software development standard processes and is a progression of proven methods of process improvement from many different methodologies. Personal Software Process (PSP) and Team Software Process (TSP) complement the implementation of Capability Maturity Model Implementation (CMMI) and can be applied gradually from the individual, to the team, and then to the organization. These solutions from Carnegie Melon\u27s Software Engineering Institute (SEI) are leading edge for the field of process improvement. Solutions like this consume many resources, are very complex, require years to implement, and can be costly. The SEI solutions offer an industry standard for SPI. Three case studies were analyzed to provide insight into the benefits of CMMI for small organizations. Decisions that steer these solutions generally involve scheduling, quality, and cost. Depending on the individual needs of an organization, the CMMI technology can fulfill what is required. The example case studies were examined and concluded that given favorable conditions, implementing CMMI is feasible for small organizations

Software Process Improvement: MESOPYME Model and Method

Product quality stems from the quality of the process used to develop and maintain it. For this reason, organizations have developed models and methods to continuously improve their software process. At this moment, these methods are onl y applicable to large organizations due to the costs required to begin an improvement program.In this paper, we present a new model with its associated method, both called MESOPYME. With this method, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can support software process improvement reducing the costs and the time of return on investment

Harmonizing CMMI-DEV 1.2 and XP Method to Improve The Software Development Processes in Small Software Development Firms

Most software development organizations are small firms, and they have realized the need to manage and improve their software development and management activities. Traditional Software Process Improvement (SPI) models and standards are not realistic for these firms because of high cost, limited resources and strict project deadlines. Therefore, these firms need a lightweight software development method and an appropriate SPI model to manage and improve their software development and management processes. This study aims to construct a suitable software development process improvement framework for Small Software Development Firms (SSDFs) based on eXtreme Programming (XP) method and Capability Maturity Model Integration for Development Version 1.2 (CMMI-Dev1.2) model. Four stages are involved in developing the framework: (1) aligning XP practices to the specific goals of CMMI-Dev1.2 Key Process Areas (KPAs); (2) developing the proposed software development process improvement framework based on extending XP method by adapting the Extension-Based Approach (EBA), CMMI-Dev1.2, and generic elements of the SPI framework; (3) verifying the compatibility of the proposed framework to the KPAs of CMMI-Dev1.2 by using focus group method coupled with Delphi technique; and (4) validating the modified framework by using CMMI-Dev1.2 questionnaire as a main item to validate the suitability of the modified framework for SSDFs, and conducting two case studies to validate the applicability and effectiveness of this framework for these firms. The result of aligning XP practices to the KPAs of CMMI-Dev1.2 shows that twelve KPAs are largely supported by XP practices, eight KPAs are partially supported by XP practices, and two KPAs are not-supported by XP practices. The main contributions of this study are: software development process improvement framework for SSDFs, elicit better understanding of how to construct the framework, and quality improvement of the software development processes. There are possible avenues for extending this research to fulfil the missing specific practices of several KPAs, examining other agile practices and using CMMI-Dev1.3 to improve the framework, and conducting more case studie

Improving Practices in a Small Software Firm: An Ambidextrous Perspective

Despite documented best practices and specialized tools, software organizations struggle to deliver quality software that is on time, within budget, and meets customer requirements. Managers seeking improved software project outcomes face two dominant software paradigms which differ in their emphasis on upfront planning, customer collaboration, and product documentation: plan-driven and agile. Rather than promoting one approach over the other, this research advocates improving software management practices by developing the organization’s ambidextrous capability. Ambidextrous organizations have the ability to simultaneously succeed at two seemingly contradictory capabilities (e.g. discipline and agility) which leads to enhanced organizational performance. Overall, this study asks the question: How can an ambidextrous perspective facilitate improvement in software practices? Driven by this question, and based on a two year action research study at a small software firm, TelSoft, the objectives of this research are to: 1. Identify dualities involved in improving software practices 2. Design interventions based on these dualities to improve software practices 3. Explore the process of becoming an ambidextrous software organization The resulting dissertation consists of a summary and four papers that each identify and address particular dualities encountered during software process improvement. The first paper asserts that both process-driven and perception-driven inquiry should be used during assessment of software practices, presents a model that shows how this combination can occur, and demonstrates the use of this model at TelSoft. The second paper explicates two theories for understanding and resolving issues in requirements engineering practice – repeat-ability and response-ability – and argues for the need to negotiate between the two. The third paper identifies a tension between managing legacy and current processes and proposes a model for software process reengineering, a systematic process for leveraging legacy processes created during prior SPI efforts. Finally, the fourth paper applies the theoretical lens of ambidexterity to understand the overall change initiative in terms of the tension between alignment and adaptability. The study used a variety of data sources to diagnose software practices, including semi-structured interviews, software process documents, meeting interactions, and workshop discussions. Subsequently, we established, facilitated, and tracked focused improvement teams in the areas of customer relations, requirements management, quality assurance, project portfolio management, and process management. Furthermore, we created and trained two management teams with responsibility for ongoing management of SPI and project portfolio management respectively. We argue that these activities improved software practices at TelSoft and provided a stronger foundation for continuous improvement. Keywords: Ambidexterity, software process improvement (SPI), action research, requirements engineering assessment, action planning, software process reengineering, software management

CMM and CMMI: A Comparison and Evaluation Of the Benefits of Integrated Approach.

Model based process improvement involves the use of a model to guide the improvement of an organization’s processes. Essentially, process capability is the inherent ability of a process to produce planned results. As the capability of a process increases, it becomes predictable and measurable, and the most significant cause of poor quality and productivity are controlled or eliminated. By steadily improving its process capability, the organization matures. One means of achieving this focus has been the use of a capability model. Models provide a common set of process requirements that capture best practice and practical knowledge in a format that can be used to guide priorities. There are different model used in the industry for the process improvement, commonly and widely used is the CMM model for software. Recognizing the widespread use of CMMs through industry and the government, CMMI model was released in August 2000. This model provides an integrated approach across the enterprise for improving processes, while reducing the redundancy, complexity and cost resulting from the use of separate and multiple models. CMMI model is analogous to CMM model and this integrated model might receive the same criticism from the small organizations as more process areas have been added to the integrated model. As the model is very new there is growing concern among the industries about the scope and applicability of the model. This thesis discusses on these issues and provides a set of recommendations that might be helpful for the organizations to decide the applicability and the scope of the integrated model. Thesis gives a brief description about the two models, CMM and CMMI and also present some recommendations to be consider while making the transition from the currently used model to the integrated model

Process capability assessments in small development firms

[Abstract}: Assessment-based Software Process Improvement (SPI) programs such as the Capability Maturity Model (CMM), Bootstrap, and SPICE (ISO/IEC 15504) are based on formal frameworks and promote the use of systematic processes and management practices for software development. These approaches identify best practices for the management of software development and when applied, enable organizations to understand, control and improve development processes. The purpose of a SPI assessment is to compare the current processes used in an organization with a list of recommended or ‘best’ practices. This research investigates the adoption of SPI initiatives by four small software development firms. These four firms participated in a process improvement program which was sponsored by Software Engineering Australia (SEA) (Queensland). The assessment method was based on SPICE (ISO/IEC 15504) and included an initial assessment, recommendations, and a follow-up meeting. For each firm, before and after snapshots are provided of the capability as assessed on eight processes. The discussion which follows summarizes the improvements realized and considers the critical success factors relating to SPI adoption for small firms

Increasing EHR Use for Quality Improvement in Community Health Centers: The Role of Networks

Describes how five community health center networks helped implement electronic health records to improve chronic and preventive care, as well as the obstacles they faced, including limited software capabilities, funding, and ability to share resources

Preventing Incomplete/Hidden Requirements: Reflections on Survey Data from Austria and Brazil

Many software projects fail due to problems in requirements engineering (RE). The goal of this paper is analyzing a specific and relevant RE problem in detail: incomplete/hidden requirements. We replicated a global family of RE surveys with representatives of software organizations in Austria and Brazil. We used the data to (a) characterize the criticality of the selected RE problem, and to (b) analyze the reported main causes and mitigation actions. Based on the analysis, we discuss how to prevent the problem. The survey includes 14 different organizations in Austria and 74 in Brazil, including small, medium and large sized companies, conducting both, plan-driven and agile development processes. Respondents from both countries cited the incomplete/hidden requirements problem as one of the most critical RE problems. We identified and graphically represented the main causes and documented solution options to address these causes. Further, we compiled a list of reported mitigation actions. From a practical point of view, this paper provides further insights into common causes of incomplete/hidden requirements and on how to prevent this problem.Comment: in Proceedings of the Software Quality Days, 201

Understanding the perception of very small software companies towards the adoption of process standards

This paper is concerned with understanding the issues that affect the adoption of software process standards by Very Small Entities (VSEs), there needs from process standards and there willingness to engage with the new ISO/IEC 29110 standard in particular. In order to achieve this goal, a series of industry data collection studies were undertaken with a collection of VSEs. A twin track approach of a qualitative data collection (interviews and focus groups) and quantitative data collection (questionnaire), with data analysis being completed separately and finally results merged, using the coding mechanisms of grounded theory. This paper serves as a roadmap for both researchers wishing to understand the issues of process standards adoption by very small companies and also for the software process standards community

Software Development Standard and Software Engineering Practice: A Case Study of Bangladesh

Improving software process to achieve high quality in a software development organization is the key factor to success. Bangladeshi software firms have not experienced much in this particular area in comparison to other countries. The ISO 9001 and CMM standard has become a basic part of software development. The main objectives of our study are: 1) To understand the software development process uses by the software developer firms in Bangladesh 2) To identify the development practices based on established quality standard and 3) To establish a standardized and coherent process for the development of software for a specific project. It is revealed from this research that software industries of Bangladesh are lacking in target set for software process and improvement, involvement of quality control activities, and standardize business expertise practice. This paper investigates the Bangladeshi software industry in the light of the above challenges.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, 11 table