Lessons learned in framework-based software process improvement

Software process improvement (SPI) has emerged as a critical area for organizations involved in software development. There is now considerable evidence that SPI can provide substantial gains in quality, productivity, and cycle time. Currently, most organizations embarking upon a SPI program tend to use a framework like the Capability Maturity Model. We discuss lessons learnt in using these frameworks for software process improvement. First, three critical success factors are discussed. The remaining lessons have been grouped into three categories - framework related, process related, and SPI management related. For each category we discuss key lessons. These lessons are based on the experience of the author in implementing a CMU-based SPI program in a large software organization in India, and helping many organizations in India and other countries (primarily the US and Mexico) with their SPI programs.