Assessment methodology for software process improvement in small organizations Francisco J. Pino a,b, * , César Pardo a , Félix García b,1 , Mario Piattini b,1 a IDIS Research Group, Electronic and Telecommunications Engineering Faculty, University of Cauca, Calle 5 # 4-70 Popayán, Colombia b ALARCOS Research Group, Information Systems and Technologies Department, UCLM–INDRA Research and Development Institute, University of Castilla–La Mancha, Paseo de la Universidad 4, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain article info Article history: Received 1 July 2009 Received in revised form 30 March 2010 Accepted 27 April 2010 Available online 20 May 2010 Keywords: Assessment methodology Software process assessment Software process improvement Small software organizations SPI COMPETISOFT abstract Context: Diagnosing processes in a small company requires process assessment practices which give qualitative and quantitative results; these should offer an overall view of the process capability. The pur- pose is to obtain relevant information about the running of processes, for use in their control and improvement. However, small organizations have some problems in running process assessment, due to their specific characteristics and limitations. Objective: This paper presents a methodology for assessing software processes which assist the activity of software process diagnosis in small organizations. There is an attempt to address issues such as the fact that: (i) process assessment is expensive and typically requires major company resources and (ii) many light assessment methods do not provide information that is detailed enough for diagnosing and improv- ing processes. Method: To achieve all this, the METvalCOMPETISOFT assessment methodology was developed. This methodology: (i) incorporates the strategy of internal assessments known as rapid assessment, meaning that these assessments do not take up too much time or use an excessive quantity of resources, nor are they too rigorous and (ii) meets all the requirements described in the literature for an assessment pro- posal which is customized to the typical features of small companies. Results: This paper also describes the experience of the application of this methodology in eight small software organizations that took part in the COMPETISOFT project. The results obtained show that this approach allows us to obtain reliable information about the strengths and weaknesses of software pro- cesses, along with information to companies on opportunities for improvement. Conclusion: The assessment methodology proposed sets out the elements needed to assist with diagnos- ing the process in small organizations step-by-step while seeking to make its application economically feasible in terms of resources and time. From the initial application it may be seen that this assessment methodology can be useful, practical and suitable for diagnosing processes in this type of organizations. Ó 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Small software organizations are very important to the eco- nomic growth of many countries and constitute the majority of software organizations around the world. In the context of the present study and using the terms of reference given by [1], small organizations are companies with fewer than 50 employees and medium organizations are companies with a staff of between 50 and 249. In Europe, 85% of the companies in the information tech- nology sector are micro, with 1–10 employees [2]. Such companies represent 93% of all businesses in Europe and 56% in the US – 66% of total employment [3]. In Latin America, 75% of software companies have fewer than 50 employees [4]. According to [5], approximately 94% of companies developing software are small organizations working on significant products, for which good soft- ware engineering practices are needed. These practices must also be tailored to their particular size and business type [5]. One prac- tice that since the end of 1990s has increased in popularity in small software organizations, is software process improvement (SPI) [6,7]. Tailor-making efficient practices for small organizations means bearing in mind that they are generally extremely reactive and flexible; they typically have a flat structure and a free-flowing management style that encourages entrepreneurship and innova- tion; they have limited economic movement and lightweight pro- cesses. Furthermore, they do not usually have enough staff to develop specialized functions that would enable them to perform complex tasks or develop secondary products [6]. 0950-5849/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.infsof.2010.04.004 * Corresponding author at: IDIS Research Group, Electronic and Telecommuni- cations Engineering Faculty, University of Cauca, Calle 5 # 4-70 Popayán, Colombia. Tel.: +57 28209800x2133. E-mail addresses: fjpino@unicauca.edu.co, fcojose.pino@alu.uclm.es (F.J. Pino), cpardo@unicauca.edu.co (C. Pardo), Felix.Garcia@uclm.es (F. García), Mario. Piattini@uclm.es (M. Piattini). 1 Tel.: +34 926 295300x3747. Information and Software Technology 52 (2010) 1044–1061 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Information and Software Technology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/infsof