An analysis of software quality management at AWE plc.

Elliott, Michael; Dawson, Ray; Edwards, Janet

doi:10.1007/s11219-007-9027-2

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…A training programme for teaching the concepts of software engineering and related support practices was introduced into AWE plc in response to a need identified from a comprehensive software quality management system (SQMS) implementation assessment (Elliott et al, 2006). The assessment uncovered a lower level of adoption of the SQMS than would normally be expected for an ISO 9001 certified company.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Providing demonstrable return‐on‐investment for organisational learning and training

Elliott

Dawson

Edwards

2009

Journal of European Industrial Training

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Purpose -The aim of this paper is to present a holistic approach to training, that clearly demonstrates cost savings with improved effectiveness and efficiencies that are aligned to business objectives.Design/methodology/approach -Extending Kirkpatrick's evaluation framework with Phillips's return-on-investment (ROI) concepts, the paper conveys a number of successes; including trainee satisfaction and the capturing of improved knowledge and skills.Findings -The paper includes case studies of how, and to what extent this knowledge has been applied with examples of resulting efficiency savings. The paper shows that there is growing agreement that one of the primary drivers, if not the key driver of long-term organisational effectiveness, is the ability of an organisation to learn effectively. The methodology requires some additional assessment and course preparation to establish a basis from which to demonstrate learning effectiveness. The financial benefits of the applied learning are far greater than the additional preparatory costs.Practical implications -Learning organisations that anticipate, react to change and learn, are likely to maintain a competitive advantage. These organisations are constantly looking for more effective and efficient ways of training. Paradoxically, other organisations will often slash training budgets in times of hardship, as training departments are unable to demonstrate the effectiveness of their programmes.Originality/value -The paper presents a practical example of how training should be applied to truly demonstrate its value in the workplace

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Providing demonstrable return‐on‐investment for organisational learning and training

Elliott

Dawson

Edwards

2009

Journal of European Industrial Training

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“…A project to improve the adoption of the SQMS was initiated at the completion of a comprehensive assessment on the level of implementation undertaken in 1999 (Elliott et al 2006). This comprehensive assessment, in fact, became the first step of a seven-step methodology for effective implementation of an SQMS developed at AWE plc.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This provided an indication that SQMS requirements were an established way of working and had become institutionalised, and not completed and then forgotten. Each system assessment attracted a pro-rata percentage of implementation that was collated to calculate a company average for the year (Elliott et al 2006). The result came to 34% for 1999, and this was a concern for senior managers.…”

Section: 1mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A detailed review of many of these documents would conclude that they were produced; ''just to get them out of the way'', indeed this was admitted by many of the document or software system owners. From earlier research (Elliott et al 2006), it was evident that there was a level of resentment in having to implement what were poorly understood controls. The success of the improvement programme was to provide software developers with a good understanding of the SQMS requirements, and to encourage active engagement with customers to deal with their concerns.…”

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confidence: 99%

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An evolutionary cultural-change approach to successful software process improvement

2009

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With a plethora of models, systems and standards to choose for a basis of software process improvement, decisions on which to adopt may depend on a number of factors. This paper presents an evolutionary and extremely cost effective approach to implementing a software quality system that requires minimum resource and little disruption to programme delivery. The method presented, achieved a 40% improvement in the level of implementation of the AWE plc software quality management system over a 5-year period. A critical success factor is the treatment of the users' of the defined software quality system as customers, understanding their concerns and problems, and being responsive to them. The importance of a well designed system is highlighted together with the essential and extensive consultation process required to gain buy-in and lay the foundation for cultural change. This was supported with a helpful programme of facilitated self-assessment and sustained by a closely aligned training scheme. As a consequence some of the cultural elements were changed from one of thoughtless ''tick-in-the-box'' compliance to one of true understanding of the system requirements, true quality implementation, and subsequent added value.

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“…The soft skills described within this paper are to support the goal of achieving personal excellence. The aspect of excellence builds on earlier work by the authors (Elliott et al, 2008(Elliott et al, -2015 and the agile theme was selected to convey the latest research finding of the Standish Group (Standish, 2014). Indeed, this recent Standish research is indicating that working closely in teams is a key factor for success.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Excellence in IT Project Management

Elliott

Dawson

2015

International Journal of Human Capital and Information Technology Professionals

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With almost thirty years since the start of our quest to find Fred Brooks' magical “Silver Bullet” to slay our productivity horrors, and twenty years since the first Standish report on IT project success and failures, are we getting closer? This paper discusses and challenges current thinking on process improvement initiates to provide answers of how we can significantly improve IT project productivity and consider that to achieve a step change in improvement requires a different approach. Recent Standish research has highlighted the Agile Methodology as being particularly successful for the smaller IT project. However, what specifically is creating this improvement? Is it the process itself or is there something that the process enables? The hypothesis presented is that in order to create the step change improvement in IT project management delivery, we need to significantly improve the inter-personal skills of the whole IT project management team. The revolution for improved productivity will stem from challenging the typical career paths of technology learning to provide a much greater focus on the softer skills.

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An analysis of software quality management at AWE plc.

Cited by 3 publications

References 3 publications

Providing demonstrable return‐on‐investment for organisational learning and training

Providing demonstrable return‐on‐investment for organisational learning and training

An evolutionary cultural-change approach to successful software process improvement

Excellence in IT Project Management

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