Software process improvement: biting the bullet

Summary form only given. Many product development professionals believe that of all product development activities, software continues to be the most unpredictable. The completion date, feature set, quality and cost of software components are considered by many to be difficult if not impossible to predict. Many project managers take a leap of faith when forced to make commitments in these areas. As a result, project managers are generally reluctant to take on additional risk for their project by “biting the bullet” and diverting resources to process improvement activities. Yet it is these process improvement activities that can improve predictability, shorten project duration, reduce costs, and improve quality. An overview of a software quality system and software development policy is presented, some important lessons learned with the prominent industry standards are described, and implementation costs of the software process improvement program are discussed. A discussion around the benefits of this work conclude the presentation