Software process improvement frameworks: Perceived impact on the quality management practices and financial performance of software organizations

The importance of high quality software that is reliable and relatively free from defects cannot be understated. To increase software quality, software organizations have focused on controlling and improving their software processes. By requiring specific activities and checkpoints designed into the software development processes, software process improvement (SPI) proponents assert that software products will have fewer defects, conform more closely to customer requirements, meet projected estimates, and have a higher likelihood of meeting target dates. Various standards and frameworks including evaluation tools with either ratings or certifications have been developed to measure adherence to software improvement processes within an organization. These ratings and certifications often serve as guidelines or specification requirements for software purchases.; Achieving a specific SPI rating or certification level can provide a software organization with strategic advantage. This research sought to determine if SPI framework investment provided measurable advantages with respect to quality management (TQM) practices and/or perceived financial performance. An empirical case study, survey-based exploratory research design was used. To control for dissimilar organizational cultural influences, 310 software organization managers and leaders from one parent major Fortune 500 company were surveyed via the web. A total of 143 completed surveys made the response rate 46.7 percent. The data collection instrument consisted of three sections: (a) items measuring investment in a software quality improvement program, investment in a SPI framework, and perceived software organization financial performance, (b) 37 items measuring perceived TQM practices, and (c) demographic information. Data analyses used two-sample t-tests for alpha of .05. Findings suggested that software organizations which invested in an SPI framework, such as the Capability Maturity Model or ISO 9000, achieved a higher level of perceived TQM practices than software organizations without any SPI framework investment. The difference between these two software organization groups related to the perceived financial performance was not significant. These findings imply that investment in a SPI framework probably will increase the level of software quality and overall TQM Practices. However, an organization will need to justify SPI framework investment based upon measures in addition to financial criteria.