Software process modeling: theory, results and commentary

As an emerging technology, the effectiveness and potential impact of process improvement efforts have been debated, but not fully tested or validated. At the very core of this technological evolution is the idea that the quality of a software product is highly dependent on the quality of the process used for its development. Branching from this central idea are three categories of innovations: process models; modeling techniques; and the novel concept of process maturity assessment. The purpose of this paper is to examine the current state-of-the-practice regarding software process models, modeling techniques and assessments. Particular attention is directed at a process improvement initiative, Humphrey´s (1997) Personal Software Process