Software Development in Small Software Companies: Exploring the Usage of Procedures, Techniques, Methods and Models in Practice

Small software companies have a challenge with utilizing process tools, which affects practice with significant quality-related challenges. This affects the software industry significantly because SSCs dominate the industry, and most of all, over 80 percent of software products are produced by SSCs. This cross-sectional survey was conducted in 3 countries attracting 115 respondents with the primary objective of investigating the software practice concerning the utilization of process tools in SSCs. The study focused on the tools used in requirements engineering and software testing as critical process areas for quality software products. Our findings indicate that the number of personnel intertwines with the complexities arising from lengthy procedures of the tools and processes, aggregating into difficulty in tool usage. Due to the constant evolution of practices, the volatility in processes also causes slow adoption of other tools, for instance, testing that must accompany the main engineering tools during a project. These findings are significant in informing theory and communicating to the practitioners what they should do regarding process tools.