Abstract. This paper presents the results of a study of how software process and software process improvement (SPI) is applied in actual practice in the software industry using the indigenous Irish software product industry as a test-bed. The study used the grounded theory methodology to produce a theory, grounded in the field data, that explains how software processes are formed and evolve and when and why SPI is undertaken. Our research found that SPI programmes are implemented reactively and many software managers are reluctant to implement SPI best practice models because of the associated costs.
Software Process Improvement (SPI) aims to understand the software process as it is used within an organisation and thus drive the implementation of changes to that process to achieve specific goals such as increasing development speed, achieving higher product quality or reducing costs. Accordingly, SPI researchers must be equipped with the methodologies and tools to enable them to look within organisations and understand the state of practice with respect to software process and process improvement initiatives, in addition to investigating the relevant literature. Having examined a number of potentially suitable research methodologies, we have chosen Grounded Theory as a suitable approach to determine what was happening in actual practice in relation to software process and SPI, using the indigenous Irish software product industry as a test-bed. The outcome of this study is a theory, grounded in the field data, that explains when and why SPI is undertaken by the software industry. The objective of this paper is to describe both the selection and usage of grounded theory in this study and evaluate its effectiveness as a research methodology for software process researchers. Accordingly, this paper will focus on the selection and usage of grounded theory, rather than results of the SPI study itself.
Purpose This paper reports on the results of an investigation into how the software development process is initially established within software product start-ups.
Methodology/ApproachThe study employs a grounded theory approach to characterize the experiences of small software organizations in developing processes to support their software development activity. Using the indigenous Irish software product industry as a test-bed, we examine how software development processes are established in software product start-ups and the major factors that influence the make up of these processes.
FindingsThe results show that the previous experience of the person tasked with managing the development work is the prime influencer on the process a company initially uses. Other influencers include the market sector in which the company is operating, the style of management used and the size and scale of the company operations.
Practical implicationsThe model has particular implications for start-up software product organisations that wish to successfully manage their product development from an early stage.
Software Process Improvement (SPI) "best practice" models such as ISO 9000 and the Capability Maturity Model Integrated (CMMI) have been developed to assist software development organisations by harnessing their experience and providing them with support so that they can produce software products on time, within budget and to a high level of quality. However there is increasing evidence that these models are not being adopted by Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) and primarily remain the remit of large organisations. This paper presents the results of a Grounded Theory study into why Irish SME software product companies are not using these SPI models. The key inhibiting factor found was the issue of cost. We discuss the findings in relation to cost of process and the factors affecting it, including bureaucracy, documentation, communication, tacit knowledge and organisational creativity and flexibility, and the associated impact on the adoption of SPI best practice models.
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