THE SCHEDULES, COSTS, AND VALUE OF SOFTWARE PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS
Capers Jones · 2005
The topic of software process improvement is now very popular in the United States, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. There are many local chapters of the well-known software process improvement network or SPIN. Unfortunately the popularity of a topic is not commensurate with the quantitative data that is available about a topic. In the case of process improvement, there is a severe shortage of information on the schedules, costs, and results of moving from marginal to superior performance in software development. This report shows a 36 month case study derived from several of SPR’s clients to illustrate four tangible aspects of software process improvement: 1) What it costs to achieve software excellence; 2) How long it will take to achieve excellence; 3) What kind of value will result from achieving software excellence; 4) What kinds of quality, schedule, and productivity levels can be achieved?