MARES

Software Process Assessment in Small Software Organizations

One of the first steps in a process improvement program is to analyze the current state of the organization’s software processes in order to identify strengths and weaknesses, as a basis for the determination of effective improvement actions. This can be done through an assessment.

A software process assessment is a disciplined examination of the processes used by an organization against a reference model with the objective to determine the capability of those processes or the maturity of an organization in order to perform within quality, cost and schedule goals.

Several methods for software process assessment have been developed, such as SCAMPI, or standards defining requirements for assessments, such as ISO/IEC 15504 (also known as SPICE), etc. However, it seems that small companies (with about 1- 49 employees) still find it particularly difficult to run assessments.

MARES

MARES is an ISO/IEC 15504-conformant assessment method for small software companies.

Read more:

RICHARDSON, I.; GRESSE VON WANGENHEIM, C. Why are Small Software Organizations Different?. IEEE Software, v. 24, no. 1, Jan/Feb 2007.

GRESSE VON  WANGENHEIM, C.; ANACLETO, A.; SALVIANO, C. F. Helping Small Companies Assess Software Processes. IEEE Software, vol. 23, no. 1, Jan/Feb 2006.

GRESSE VON WANGENHEIM, Christiane; WEBER, Sergio; HAUCK, Jean Carlo; TRENTIN, Gisele.Experiences on Establishing Software Processes in Small Companies. Information and Software Technology, v. 48, n. 9, 2006.

GRESSE VON  WANGENHEIM, Christiane; VARKOI, Timo;  SALVIANO, Clênio F. Standard-based Software Process Assessments in Small Companies. Software Process Improvement and Practice, v. 11, n. 3, 2006.

GRESSE VON WANGENHEIM, Christiane; PICKLER, Kênia K.; THIRY, Marcello; ZOUCAS Alessandra C.; SALVIANO, Clênio F.Aplicando Avaliações de Contextualização em Processos de Software Alinhados ao CMMI-SE/SW. In: SIMRPOS 2005, Simpósio Internacional de Melhoria de Processo de Software, São Paulo, Brazil, 2005.

GRESSE VON WANGENHEIM, Christiane; SALVIANO, Clênio F. Consolidação da Metodologia para Avaliação de Processos de Software de MPEs Baseada na Norma ISO/IEC 15504. In: SBQS – Simpósio Brasileiro de Qualidade de Software, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 2005.

WEBER, Sergio; HAUCK, Jean Carlo Rossa; GRESSE VON WANGENHEIM, Christiane. Estabelecendo Processos de Software em Micro e Pequenas Empresas.  In: SBQS – Simpósio Brasileiro de Qualidade de Software, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 2005.

PICKLER, Kênia K; GRESSE VON WANGENHEIM, Christiane; SALVIANO, Clênio F. Propondo um Método de Avaliação de Processo de Software em Micro Empresas Incubadas. In: SBQS – Simpósio Brasileiro de Qualidade de Software, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 2005.

ANACLETO, Alessandra; GRESSE VON WANGENHEIM, Christiane; SALVIANO, Clênio F. Um Método de Avaliação de Processos de Software em Micro e Pequenas Empresas. In: SBQS – Simpósio Brasileiro de Qualidade de Software, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 2005.

ANACLETO, Alessandra; GRESSE VON WANGENHEIM, Christiane; SALVIANO Clênio F. Avaliação de Processos para Início de Programas de Melhoria em Micro e Pequenas Empresas de Software. VI Simpósio Internacional de Melhoria de Processo de Software – SIMPROS 2004, São Paulo, Brazil, 2004.

ANACLETO, Alessandra; GRESSE VON WANGENHEIM, Christiane; SALVIANO, Clênio F.; SAVI, Rafael.A Method for Process Assessment in Small Software Companies. 4th International SPICE Conference on Process Assessment and Improvement., 2004, Lisboa, Portugual.

ANACLETO, Alessandra; GRESSE VON WANGENHEIM, Christiane; SALVIANO, Clênio F.; SAVI, Rafael.Experiences from Applying 15504 to Small Software Companies in Brazil. 4th International SPICE Conference on Process Assessment and Improvement., 2004, Lisboa, Portugal.

ANACLETO, Alessandra; GRESSE VON WANGENHEIM, Christiane; SALVIANO, Clênio F.; SAVI, Rafael. 15504MPE- Desenvolvendo um Método para Avaliação de Processos de Software em MPEs Utilizando a ISO/IEC 15504. SIMPROS – Simpósio Internacional de Melhoria de Processos de Software, Recife, Brazil, 2003.

 

The work has been realized in cooperation with the CTI – Centro de Tecnologia da Informação Renato Archer/Brazil and the LQPS – UNIVALI/Brazil.

This work is supported by the CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – www.cnpq.br), an entity of the Brazilian government focused on scientific and technological development.