A Method for Assessing the Development Process of Small Organizations

Henry, Joel and Keenan, Susan L. and Keenan, Michael A. and Henry, Sallie M. (1992) A Method for Assessing the Development Process of Small Organizations. Technical Report TR-92-49, Computer Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Abstract

This paper describes a two-phase method for assessing the s.oftware development process of small organizations. The initial phase involves using the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) assessment method to establish the activities comprising the development process. The second phase consists of follow-up interviews to discover the implementation technique for each existing activity and investigate the effectiveness of the techniques. Procedures for generating recommendations are outlined. The data acquired is statistically valid and allows discovery of significant problem areas. Recommendations based on the SEI framework and accepted software engineering practices are described. The assessment method is evaluated and future work is outlined.