Miklós Biró

Systems, Software and Services Process Improvement

This paper discusses (based on the EU project AQUA) how the core elements of three complementary approaches and standards can be integrated into one compact skill set with training and best practices to be applied. In this project experts from Automotive SPICE (ISO 15504), Functional Safety (ISO 26262) and Lean Six Sigma collaborate. In a first analysis the experts identified an architecture of core elements where all three approaches fit together and where a holistic view about improvement is needed. The Automotive Clusters from Austria and Slovenia are trial partners and will roll out this knowledge in pilot courses to the industry. Other Automotive Clusters showed interest and will join the trial phase.

The SPI manifesto and the ECQA SPI manager certification scheme

Software process improvement (SPI) can be seen as a profession having its own competence needs and its own community of interest. European projects EQN and EU Cert have defined skill sets and a common certification scheme for about 20 professions, mainly in the IT domain. European Certification and Qualification Association ECQA is created to manage certification and provide the necessary infrastructure. A common way to approach the IT domain from a process perspective is the ‘3S’ concept (Software, Systems, Services). Software process can be seen as the first spearhead among these. The first software process models, such as CMM and SPICE, have already existed for about 20 years. With all the experience that the models bring, it is reasonable to start the PI profession from the software process. Software Process Improvement Manager (SPI Manager) is one of the new topics in ECQA. The development of the SPI Manager training and certification scheme has been done in many small steps so far. This paper explains the current structure and the main components of SPI Manager competences, training needs and the certification scheme. Several other schemes will be developed in the future for process improvement‐related competences. The current version of the SPI Manager skill set is mainly based on software, systems and service processes and their related reference models. It could also be used in the future in domains other than IT. Copyright

The people aspects in modern process improvement management approaches

Since the beginning of the 1990s, process improvement was considered as a formal issue. Focus was on process description, and improvement was a somewhat better description. Also, process improvement was driven by the customer side. Symptoms were ISO 9001 and Capability Maturity Model (CMM) [11]. This situation remained stable even if at the mid of the fist decade of this century, ISO/IEC 15504 was published. On the contrary, approaches like People Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI), EU Support and Guidance to the Procurement of Information and Telecommunication Systems and Services (SPRITE S2) Project and the European Qualification Network European Certification and Qualification Association (ECQA) were established, but their relevance was not recognised by IT people [1]. Currently, we see a move forward to focus on people because they are recognised as key success factors. The first model that really emphasised the ownership and empowerment of people was the Process and Enterprise Maturity Model (PEMM) model of Michael Hammer [14]. In the IT community, Ivar Jacobson [15] developed his approach while criticising the current process description approach. At the same time, Jan Pries-Heje did research related to effective Software Process Improvement (SPI) approaches [6]. In 2007, a first attempt was made to develop a training curriculum for SPI Management. From the very beginning, it was clear that people are a key factor to be addressed. This process of reorientation of the SPI community reached a milestone, when the SPI manifesto [12] was published and the Skill Card for the SPI Manager Qualification Scheme was approved by the authorised Job Role committee. Right now, the first training is delivered and experience is excellent.

Agile maturity model: analysing agile maturity characteristics from the SPICE perspective

The paper discusses structure, quality and content of the currently available agile maturity models. It presents two approaches on how to deal with such models. As a first step of the analysis, the paper contains a compilation of maturity level naming used by these agile maturity models because the variety of level naming is a sign of the variety of understanding and of definition of agile maturity.

Agile Maturity Model: Oxymoron or the Next Level of Understanding

From the agile camp you can hear someone to say that CMMI is the big American waterfall model monster, and is outright contra productive to agile methods. From the CMMI camp you can hear someone to say that agile methods is hackers from hell that uses the agile paradigm to enjoy anarchy with no rules. You can also hear some say that agile works the best in CMMI level 5 companies. The context of the dilemma however is slightly awkward. CMMI describes characteristics of good development practices, and agile is a lifecycle concept. So from a meta point of view they can easily co-exist. We would like to state that they do, and that you need both to support the best development performance. Starting in December 2011 three surveys were launched to get an idea about what could an agile maturity model deliver and what might be its added value. 67 Participants from several agile or/and CMMI® related LinkedIn Groups contributed to the survey. This article explains the survey results and proposes further research topics and harmonization actions.

Social responsibility aspects supporting the success of SPI

Software Process Improvement (SPI) activities aim at driving change in information technology development towards increased quality and productivity levels. The SPI Manifesto describes the key values and principles for a successful implementation of SPI. About two‐thirds of its principles relate to human, social, and organizational aspects and one‐third to technical aspects. This raises the question if these aspects have a relationship with ‘social responsibility’ principles. The new ISO 26000:2010 standard provides guidance about social responsibility (SR), describing the core subjects and issues an organization has to consider when implementing SR. In this paper, we describe how the values and principles of the SPI Manifesto have a relationship with the SR issues described in the ISO 26000. In addition, this paper describes about the steps taken in an industry group to exchange best practices about how social strategies can be used to achieve higher acceptance and sustainability of SPI initiatives. Copyright

Agile Maturity Model: A Synopsis as a First Step to Synthesis

The paper describes the current status of agile maturity models. It shows where such models can be found and it contains a structured top level compilation of the currently available agile maturity models. In the second section, the paper describes an approach to analyse these agile maturity models, extracts their content, maps it to a reference model and then synthesizes the real agile maturity issues. The paper also describes the needs for scientific research in this topic. The paper will not present its own Agile Maturity Model. This will be the task for further research. It intends however to compile current agile maturity model thinking linking it to philosophical issues partly also raised in recent initiatives like the SPI Manifesto, the ECQA PI Manager Certification Scheme and SEMAT.

A Traceability Process Assessment Model for the Medical Device Domain

Traceability of requirements through the software development lifecycle (including supporting processes such as risk management and change management) is a difficult and expensive task. The implementation of effective traceability allows organizations to leverage its many advantages, such as impact analysis, product verification and validation, and facilitation of code maintenance. Traceability is conducive to producing quality software.

Pioneering process improvement experiment in hungary

The PASS (Pay-roll Accounting and Settlement System) project is the first Central and Eastern European ESSI PIE (European Systems and Software Initiative Process Improvement Experiment) project directly supported by the European Commission. The PASS project was carried out under the ESSI initiative with the financial support of the Commission of the European Communities under the ESPRIT Programme EP21223. The PASS (Pay-roll Accounting and Settlement System) project started as a new business project of MemoLuX. Its business purpose is to develop a modular, platform independent, integrated networked software system satisfying functional requirements of EU standards in public accountancy and applicable for the Hungarian as well as for the international market. The system provides direct service among employers, employees and banks. The PASS project is the baseline project for the process improvement experiment. In the PIE, the quality of MemoLuXs development process was enhanced to become well defined and predictable with the professional support of MTA SZTAKI (Computer and Automation Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences). During the dissemination supported by ISCN, this PIE is used as a master example to adapt Eastern European processes to the high quality norms of Western Europe, this way facilitating the integration of Eastern Europe into a joint EU in the long term. Objectives and expected results are improving the control of the development process (QA Unit, structured system analysis, improved testing process, efficient project planning, ISO 9001 documentation), raising the maturity level (CMM) to 3 and achieving compliance with ISO 9001 requirements at this high level of maturity. Copyright

Assessing traceability-practical experiences and lessons learned

Most existing software systems that lack explicit traceability links between artefacts, or if implemented, are often not leveraged to take advantage of the information it can provide to a development or validation team.