Standard based software process assessments in small companies

Small software companies face similar issues regarding software quality improvement and process assessments as larger companies. The main difference is that smaller companies seldom have specialized or competent resources to solve the problems. Therefore, the development of assessment methods from the viewpoint of small companies can also support the software industry. Based on experiences applying ISO/IEC 15504 in small software companies in Finland and Brazil, we present a flexible approach to efficient process assessments. Flexibility requires a continuous assessment model, so that the scope of process improvement and assessment can be defined on the basis of the prioritized needs of an organization. Our experiences show that 15504 can also be applied with success in small software organizations. This paper presents how the assessments were run and lessons learned on applying 15504 in this kind of organization. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.