A Process Modelling Approach To ManagingSoftware Process Improvement
David S. Hinley, K.H. Bennet · WIT transactions on information and communication technologies · 1970
A Software Process Model (SPM) need not simply be regarded as a static, descriptive representation of the software process with similar strengths and weaknesses to those described for traditional Software Development Life-Cycle (SDLC) models. Research is currently being carried out to study how SPM's may be of direct benefit to software managers to sustain or improve software quality during the maintenance process. By focussing on the management aspects rather than the technical activities undertaken, the changing roles of the software manager and the problems currently faced in managing complex processes can be highlighted. Some of the ways in which SPM's can be developed and used by managers to gain greater insight and understanding of the software process have also been elucidated. This paper outlines how SPM's may be used in the analysis of existing processes and how they may contribute towards the design and implementation of new and improved processes, in order to better achieve managerial objectives. Initial findings, within the framework of our experimental investigation, suggest that process modelling is a useful technique for establishing and developing roles, with the result that a positive effect on the co-ordination of resources and in the development of group and individual relationships could be qualitatively measured. Skill levels and communication pathways have also seen improvements based on the enaction of prescriptive models. Transactions on Information and Communications Technologies vol 4, © 1993 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3517