Adopting the SW-CMM in a small IT organization

The real problem small organizations face is managing the relationship between their environment and how this environment enables or inhibits an improvement initiative´s success. Little is understood about which factors affect a software process improvement initiative in a small organization and how the organization´s environment determines these factors. To help small organizations make decisions about adopting better process practices, we analyzed the relationship between a small organization´s environment and its successful implementation of the Capability Maturity Model for Software (SW-CMM) level 2. The project helped us identify the organizational characteristics affecting the initiative. As we´ll see, some aspects of process improvement are easier when the organization is small.