Exploring Software Process Variation Arising from Differences in Situational Context

Abstract

Abstract. The software development process is continuously changing, there is huge pressure to condense release cycles into shorter and shorter timeframes, tools are changing dramatically and companies must continually examine the efficacy of their development process. Attempting to hit a moving target is difficult and it is a decision which can have a major effect in terms of both the end-product and the business. In this paper, we discuss the role of situational context in deciding upon the software development process through the analysis of two case studies. The case studies take a detailed look at the organisational profile and context of each company in turn before we compare and contrast each situational context for factors that may influence the development process. We then compare the processes each company has chosen before our discussion of the role context plays in choosing a 'correct' software development process. While both companies have enjoyed sustained business growth and while both are agile in mind-set, we find that they are in fact quite distinct in their processes, this distinction being driven by their different situational contexts.

The Changing Role of the Software Engineer

“…Part of the challenge of organising the software development process involves deciding upon the specific roles involved in the process and the responsibilities of individuals fulfilling these roles. Therefore, just as the process itself is subject to regular change [36][37][38], so too are the roles subject to change.…”

Systems, Software and Services Process Improvement

“…We believe this work to be important for the broader software engineering community as there is a growing acknowledgement, that not alone is the software process complicated [28], but also that there are a large number of factors affecting the process [29][30][31] with the result that the overall business of software process engineering is subject to regular change and highly complex [32]. Added to these challenges in process enactment, we must strive for appropriate levels of process focus in organizations as increased process focus has been demonstrated to be positively associated with successful business outcomes [33].…”

Software Testing: A Changing Career

“…We furthermore find that roles within software development can have varying names [44], and that the very terminology adopted is perhaps the source of some fusion [45] [46]. We have also seen that the process and the details of work carried out when producing software are also variable given any particular development setting [47] [48]. Irrespective of these many important concerns, as a fundamental activity, successful commercial software development must incorporate a testing function.…”