Abstract
Software development is in constant change. New software
development strategies, methods, processes, and tools are
constantly introduced and taken in use. Simultaneously,
the growth and importance of software has accelerated,
and software has become a fundamental part of a whole
range of different products. Software development
strategies are changing as well: globally distributed
software development, use of commercial off-the-shelf
(COTS), and Open Source development are some examples of
the latest tendencies. Ever-tightening competition has
led to shortened lead-time requirements and variety of
customised software versions targeted to divergent
markets. Software development needs to be optimised to
meet these challenges - without sacrificing quality. To
keep abreast of change software process improvement (SPI)
should develop, too, over time.
Well-managed software development processes has become
strategic core competency in many organisations, enabling
high-class software development, quality estimation,
control, and prediction. However, improving software
development processes is demanding and complex task.
Numerous software process improvement (SPI) methods in
the market offer help and guidance, but unfortunately
they only partially address factors found essential for
achieving SPI success.
This dissertation develops, presents and argues for the
SPI methods embodying characteristics directing towards
successful process improvement. As the results, the
thesis extracts critical success factors for SPI
initiatives using SPI lessons learnt. Furthermore, it
incrementally develops and evaluates SPI methods,
incorporating means to achieve the above-mentioned
critical success factors. The research is based on
several industrial case studies.
Original language | English |
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Qualification | Doctor Degree |
Awarding Institution |
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Supervisors/Advisors |
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Award date | 18 Jun 2004 |
Place of Publication | Espoo |
Publisher | |
Print ISBNs | 951-38-6388-3 |
Electronic ISBNs | 951-38-6389-1 |
Publication status | Published - 2004 |
MoE publication type | G5 Doctoral dissertation (article) |
Keywords
- software process improvement (SPI)
- SPI measurement
- software quality
- knowledge management
- Pr2imer
- Profes