SPI - A Guarantee for Success? A Reality Story from Industry

The Tokheim development centre in Bladel, The Netherlands, has a 10-year experience in applying Software Process Improvement methods (SPI). Several models were used to improve and adapt the software development process. In 1992 the Bladel site was certified for ISO9001 and achieved CMM Level 2. Now several years later the software development centre is still ISO9001/TickIT certified, however recent PROFES/BOOTSTRAP Assessments pointed out that several sub-processes of the software development process can be rated in the lowest capability ranges. The reason for the minor progress is that a SPI program is heavily influenced by several factors not clearly identified in most methods. The presence and extent of these influencing factors are a major prerequisite for the successful implementation of a SPI method or model. This paper gives a global overview of the SPI methods and models applied in the Tokheim organisation and how they were influenced. The main influencing factors that were observed in the Tokheim environment are presented under the three categories: commitment, support and culture. The aim is to make people aware that when performing a SPI program these influencing factors should be taken into to prevent unpredictable outcomes.