Evaluating the relationship between process improvement and schedule deviation in software maintenance

A basic proposition of process assessment models is that higher process maturity is associated with improved project performance and product quality. This study provides empirical evidence to support this proposition by testing the hypothesis that higher process maturity is negatively associated with schedule deviation in software maintenance. Next, the present study investigates whether two process context factors (organizational size and geographical region) modify the relationship between process maturity and schedule deviation by using a moderator testing method. Our results show that organizational size does not influence the relationship, while geographical region is deemed to be an independent variable.