…and its Application in a Scandinavian Picture Agency Group

Software Process Improvementin the Small

Rune Toalango Johannesenrune@toalango.com

M.Sc. Information Technology Management ● Dissertation Project ● October 2004

The Presentation

• Key elements of the dissertation

• The chosen improvement and assessment approach

• Highlights from the problem diagnosis

• Limitations of research undertaken

• Overall dissertation conclusion

• Questioning

Dissertation Outline

1. Introduction

2. Research Methodology3. Research Review

4. Chosen SPI Approach5. Case Study Highlights

6. Evaluation

7. Conclusion The Practical Perspective

Accounts for both the Practical and the

Academic Perspectives

The Academic Perspective

The Chosen Approach

A HybridSPA

Approach

DocumentReviewing

ProblemDiagnosisMethod

The IDEAL model as SPI framework

Case Study

Problem Diagnosis Highlights

1) An new organisational model

2) A distributed project-driven development unit

3) Remote development facilities and formalised methodological software process practises

Diagnosing• An efficient smallness culture of

adhocracy

• An intricate and inexpedient ownership structure

• Local incentives despite group-wide projects

• Messy relationships between internal buyer(s) and IT supplier(s)

• IT owns the systems, not business

• Intermixed operations and developments efforts

• Communication gap between biz and tech

Limitations of Research

• Only the two first phases of the IDEAL model, Initiating and Diagnosing, were applied

• The peculiar ownership constellation of SCANPIX makes the case interesting for organisations in “political battlefields”

• The intense assessment made it difficult to use the outcome of one interview as input to the preparations of the next

• Problem-based assessment approaches offer limited guidance in identifying, prioritising and improving problem areas

• A quasi-experiment applied as action research on a case study basis offers limited basis for validation of findings since the research does not include a basis of comparison

Conclusion

• Previous research has been largely misguided by focusing too much on quantitative model-based approaches not suitable for small organisations

• The chosen improvement and assessment approach was found applicable in the case based on the sponsor’s commitment and feedback

• An alignment between large-scale and small-scale approaches, without enforcing large-scale models on small-scale organisations, is desirable

• More research is needed on how the problem-based approaches can guide the advocates of improvement in identifying, prioritising and improving problem areas

Questions?