Software Quality TQM viewpoint

1
Lecture 19
What have we covered so far ?

• Software Quality TQM viewpoint
• Quality process - project Management
• Overview of process
• Process thinking Discipline

2
What will we cover today ?

• Process Effectiveness

3
Process Discipline - Benefits

• Alignment of team toward business goals
• Increases total team capability
• Leads to product quality
• Addresses all relevant tasks
• Provides repeatability

4
Process focused organizations

• Empowerment of teams
• Big picture viewpoint
• Aligned with business objectives of organization

5
Process is effective when.

• It is the basis for organization, management,
  skills technology
• It has documentation, training enforcement
• More than just a list of activities

6
Process is effective when.

• End-to-end coverage
• Three key areas covered
• Management processes
• Software Engineering processes
• Support processes

7
Mechanisms for Effective process

• Process Ownership
• Process Training
• Measurement Feedback on process results
• Feedback from process users
• Feedback from external environment
• Enforcement and inspection mechanisms

8
Lack of process Ownership

• Story of 4 people - everybody, somebody, anybody
  and nobody.
• Important job to be done Everybody was sure
  that Somebody would do it.
• Anybody could have done it. Nobody did it.
• Somebody got angry about that because it was
  Everybody's job.
• Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but
  Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it.
• It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when
  Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

9
Process myths

• We have documentation we have a process
  ----- NO !
• Our team is trained. I trust them to follow the
  process ----- NO !
• Process should be self-driven. No need for
  external Verification ----- NO !!

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Process myths

• Process is stable and needs no changes
  ----- NO !
• Senior sponsorship no further justification
  needed ----- NO !
• Continuous enforcement not needed in disciplined
  environment ---- NO !

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Process Institutionalization

• Process embedded in day-to-day activities
• Broad and routine use across the whole
  organization (Fowler and Rifkin, 1990)
• Needs..
• Process Culture
• and
• Process Infrastructure

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Process Culture

• Culture
• A set of shared basic assumptions that a group
  has learned as it solved its problems or that has
  helped the group repeatedly in achieving its
  objectives (Myers, 1996)
• Driven by vision and strategic direction from top
  of organization

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Process Infrastructure

• Provides operational support for process
  activities
• Management roles and responsibilities
• Technical tools to support process

14
For next week

• Zahran review chapters 3 4

15
References

• Software Process Improvement Practical
  Guidelines for Business Success, ISBN
  0-201-17782-X
• Sami Zahran, chapters 3 - 4