Priorities of process improvement outcomes based on process capability levels

Abstract

How are software process improvement outcomes related to targeted capability levels? The answer can serve as a feasible path forward for the improvement work in a software organization. The article provides guidance on what to include in the improvement effort at different levels of process capability. The reduction of premature documentation and practices reveals the essential work products needed to support the achievement of the desired capability level. This results in increased effectiveness of the improvement process even in the very beginning of the improvement work. The article opens up the process improvement process by presenting the relevant work products for each capability level. The key outcome is a step-wise approach to process improvement work products to lower the threshold for initiating the software process improvement work.