Software Process Improvement Laboratory

Launching out on a software quality improvement programme? Be sure to establish a sound foundation for this high-risk activity!

Setting out on a programme to improve enterprise software quality is fraught with potential obstacles and pitfalls. Lack of understanding by key participants and team members as to what is technically required of the software process improvement programme presents an important obstacle to be addressed. This short course is designed to enable attendees to:

• Understand the nature of the problems to be addressed in launching out of a process improvement initiative.
• Gain a clear understanding of the key inhibitors and success factors in improving software product and process quality.
• Appreciate the key technical issues that need to be addressed in the process improvement campaign.

Objectives

• To provide the technical foundations and rationale to support an effective enterprise software process improvement campaign.
• To provide a clear understanding of the consequences to the individual and the enterprise of a lack of quality in process and product.

Benefits

After attending this course you will be able to:

• Understand the limitations of ISO 9001 in providing guidance on improving business process and product quality.
• Be equipped to understand the quality implications of enterprise processes from a practical perspective that meets the requirements of ISO 9001.

Course format

At least 30 per cent of the course time is spent exploring the consequences of process quality issues in the context of case studies. The remaining time is spent on presentation of various concepts.

Course contact time

The course duration is 8 hours – which includes refreshment breaks. This course is typically offered as a full one-day programme.

Who should attend?

• Executives and managers responsible for software product development and services who are seeking to optimise their business processes.
• Software developers and line management staff tasked to improve software quality to achieve business goals.

Pre-requisites to attending

None.

Course topics

• Overview critical problem areas in software product development and IT service provision.
• Review factors responsible for the shift internationally to a ‘safe’ software development environment
• The CMMI and ISO/IEC 15504 process capability models.
• ISO/IEC 25000 series – the foundation to understanding software product quality.
• Understanding the benefits of software quality.
• Key factors associated with the cost of quality.
• Practical case studies to illustrate typical software process quality problems.
• Key success factors in launching the quality improvement programme and follow-up steps.