Understanding the characteristics of quality for software engineering processes: A Grounded Theory investigation |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, American University of Beirut, Lebanon;2. Computer Science Department, American University of Beirut, Lebanon;1. University of Salerno, via Ponte Don Melillo, 81041 Fisciano, SA, Italy;2. University of Molise, C.da Fonte Lappone, 86090 Pesche, IS, Italy;1. University of Oviedo, Computer Science Department, Calvo Sotelo s/n, 33007 Oviedo, Spain;2. University of South Florida, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, ENB118 Tampa, FL, USA;1. State Key Laboratory for Novel Software Technology, Nanjing University, China;2. Department of Computer Science and Technology, Nanjing University, China;3. Department of Computing, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China;4. School of Computer Science and Engineering, Southeast University, China;1. School of Architecture, Computing, and Engineering, University of East London, 4-6 University Way, London E16 2RD, United Kingdom;2. SBA Research gGmbh, Sommerpalais Harrach, Favoritenstrasse 16, 1040 Wien, Austria |
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| Abstract: | ContextSoftware engineering organizations routinely define and implement processes to support, guide and control project execution. An assumption underlying this process-centric approach to business improvement is that the quality of the process will influence the quality, cost and time-to-release of the software produced. A critical question thus arises of what constitutes quality for software engineering processes.ObjectiveTo identify criteria used by experienced practitioners to judge the quality of software engineering processes and to understand how knowledge of these criteria and their relationships may be useful for those undertaking software process improvement activities.MethodInterviews were conducted with 17 experienced software engineering practitioners from a range of geographies, roles and industry sectors. Published reports from 30 software process improvement case-studies were selected from multiple peer-reviewed software journals. A qualitative Grounded Theory-based methodology was employed to systematically analyze the collected data to synthesize a model of quality for software engineering processes.ResultsThe synthesized model suggests that practitioners perceive the overall quality of a software engineering process based on four quality attributes: suitability, usability, manageability and evolvability. Furthermore, these judgments are influenced by key properties related to the semantic content, structure, representation and enactment of that process. The model indicates that these attributes correspond to particular organizational perspectives and that these differing views may explain role-based conflicts in the judgement of process quality.ConclusionConsensus exists amongst practitioners about which characteristics of software engineering process quality most influence project outcomes. The model presented provides a terminological framework that can facilitate precise discussion of software engineering process issues and a set of criteria that can support activities for software process definition, evaluation and improvement. The potential exists for further development of this model to facilitate optimization of process properties to match organizational needs. |
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| Keywords: | Software engineering processes Quality attributes Quality properties Grounded Theory |
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