Factors leading to the success and sustainability of software process improvement efforts
Natalja Nikitina, Mira Kajko‐Mattsson · 2012
Abstract—Although software process improvement (SPI) may bring immediate positive results, this does not imply that the results will sustain in the long run. In order to succeed with continuous process improvement and sustain its results, organizations need to be aware of what makes their SPI efforts successful or unsuccessful. This paper presents thirty three factors that primarily contribute to the success and sustainability of SPI efforts. The factors are organized into three categories: (1) organizational factors related to the organizational structure, politics and culture, (2) implementation factors related to the planning, preparation, execution and management of the SPI projects and (3) social factors dealing with human behavior and reactions in the SPI context. Keywords- SPI; success factors; sustainability factors; attributes; SPI status; lasting results I.