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Purpose -While the literature on software process improvement (SPI) offers a number of studies of small software firms, little is known about how such initiatives evolve over time. On this backdrop, this paper aims to investigate how adoption of SPI technology was shaped over a ten year period (1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005) in a small Danish software firm. Design/methodology/approach -The investigation is based on a longitudinal, interpretative case study of improvement efforts over a ten-year period. To help structure the investigation, we focus on encounters that impacted engineering, management, and improvement practices within the firm. The study contributes to the SPI-literature and the literature on organizational adoption of technology. Findings -The paper finds the improvement effort fluctuating and shaped between management's attempt to control SPI technology adoption and events that caused the process to drift in unpredictable directions. Practical implications -The experiences suggest that managers of small software firms remain flexible and constantly negotiate technology adoption practices between control and drift, creating momentum and direction according to firm goals through attempts to control, while at the same time exploring backtalk, options, and innovations from drifting forces inside and outside the firm. Originality/value -Based on the research, the paper recommends substituting the "from control to drift" perspective on organizational adoption of complex technologies like SPI with a "negotiating control and drift" perspective.

Most software firms struggle to take advantage of the potential benefits of software process improvement (SPI) as they adopt this technology into the complex and dynamic realities of their day-to-day operation. Such efforts are therefore typically fluctuating between management's attempt to control SPI technology adoption and events that causes the process to drift in unpredictable directions. To further understand how management's attempt to control the process is complemented by drifting, this article investigates the role of improvisation in adoption of SPI technology in a Danish software firm, SmallSoft, over a 10-year period (1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005). We found that micro-level and macrolevel improvisations interacted, often in uncoordinated ways, to shape SPI technology adoption at SmallSoft. The improvisations enhanced employee creativity, motivation and empowerment, created momentum in the adoption process despite constrained resources, and, most importantly, helped adapt SPI technology to the everyday practices at SmallSoft. However, we also identified un-called for improvisations and outcomes that were uncoordinated with SmallSoft's goals. Based on these findings we discuss how management in small software firms can exploit improvisations to facilitate adoption of complex technologies like SPI.

Software process improvement in small organisation is often problematic and communication and knowledge sharing is more informal. To improve software processes we need to understand how they communicate and share knowledge. In this article have studied the company SmallSoft through action research. In the action research we have applied the framework of social network analysis and we show this can be used to understand the underlying structures of communication and knowledge sharing between software developers and managers. We show in detail how the analysis can be done and how the management can utilise the findings. From this we conclude that social network analysis was a useful framework together with accompanying tools and techniques.