Benchmarking a software transition process

Abstract

Software transition is a strongly under-researched process as compared to other software lifecycle processes. Today, basic issues such as how and by whom software transition is performed are not clear enough. In this paper, we explore these issues by benchmarking a software transition process within four companies. The benchmarking is based on criteria such as departments and roles involved in transition as well as the basic activities inherent in the transition process. Our results show that the transition process and the departments and roles involved in it vary. They depend on a particular context, such as organizational structure, role portfolio, product complexity and customer availability. © 2010 ACM.