focus
0740-7459/00/$10.00 2000 IEEE July/August 2000 IEEE SOFTWARE 33
Addressing the “better” aspect, one of
the Software Engineering Institute’s Capa-
bility Maturity Model’s
1
main goals is to
improve process and software quality. The
CMM also aims to improve process pre-
dictability and manageability, which ad-
dresses “cheaper”—at least to the extent of
better controlling costs.
These software process goals reflect the
diversity inherent in software development:
the varying contexts in which it occurs and
beliefs of how to most successfully produce
the software in such contexts (where suc-
cess is ultimately defined by the organiza-
tions’ survival). A highly systematic and
measured approach to software process will
suit certain circumstances—for example,
negotiated or safety-critical software. How-
ever, that approach might be incompatible
with the typically fast-paced, reactive, and
innovative world of commercial software
development. This is especially true for
highly dynamic application domains such
as Internet-based electronic commerce, and
even more so for start-up companies with-
out an established product, customer base,
or revenue stream.
This contrast, between the need for
speed in getting products out and the need
for deliberation in maximizing process con-
trol, raises the questions of whether process
or process maturity can help a start-up soft-
ware company and how process and
process maturity are relevant, if at all. To
what extent does the theme of process ac-
commodate this diversity of contexts and
viewpoints? This article examines some of
the issues surrounding these questions and
particularly considers how you can apply
process to start-up companies developing
commercial products.
Characteristics of Start-up
Companies
EC Cubed (see the sidebar) exhibits many
characteristics that are widely representative
of software start-up companies. These char-
acteristics reflect both engineering and busi-
The Role of Process
in a Software Start-up
Stanley M. Sutton, Jr., EC Cubed
In the start-up
environment,
process technologies
and methodologies
that focus on
advanced levels of
process maturity
can be out of
place. This article
gives an overview
of a start-up’s
relationship with
process and gives
guidelines on
how to apply
process to a
start-up company.
I
t’s been said that “speed kills.’’ However, for a start-up software company,
especially one targeting the dynamic commercial marketplace, speed might
be what keeps the company alive. Although other factors contribute to
the success of a new software product or producer, for a start-up company
that aims for “better, faster, cheaper,” “faster” usually takes precedence.
process diversity
“If things seem
under control,
you’re not going
fast enough.’’
—Mario Andretti

34 IEEE SOFTWARE July/August 2000
ness concerns, which define inescapable con-
straints under which start-up companies
must operate.
Youth and Immaturity
The most basic characteristics of start-up
companies is that they are new, or at least
relatively young and inexperienced com-
pared to more established and mature de-
velopment organizations. This means that
they have very little accumulated experience
or history. Thus, immaturities typically exist
not only in such companies’ process capa-
bilities but also in their organization.
Limited Resources
Another typical characteristic is that re-
sources are limited. The first resources in-
vested in a company typically focus on out-
ward-looking activities: getting the product
out, promoting the product, and building
up strategic alliances. The sooner the com-
pany can accomplish these activities, the
better its chances for survival.
Multiple Influences
In its early stages, a company might also
be particularly sensitive to influences from
various sources: investors, customers, part-
ners, and competitors (both actual and po-
tential). Divergent influences might also exist
within the company. To complicate the situa-
tion, these influences, although seemingly
critical, could be inconsistent. Consequently,
the company might continue to adjust and
readjust what it does and how it does it.
Dynamic Technologies and Markets
New companies often get caught up in the
wave of technological change sweeping the
software industry (and IT industries in gen-
eral): new network technologies, proliferat-
ing communications channels, an increasing
variety of computing devices, new program-
ming languages, new system architectures,
new object and distribution technologies,
and more. New software companies are of-
ten established to develop technologically in-
novative products, and developing these
products, in turn, might require cutting-edge
development tools and techniques.
Start-ups versus Established Companies
Of course, the conditions and challenges
that characterize the typical, commercial
start-up company can also apply to more es-
tablished or noncommercial software com-
panies. More established companies are not
chronologically youthful, although they
might still be immature (in a process sense)
or even outdated (in an organizational
sense). All software companies must address
in some way the issues of time to market,
cost, and quality, although the relative em-
phases can vary (for example, with the type
of software produced and the type of market
targeted). Also, all software companies are
to some degree subject to changing techno-
logical and economic environments (al-
though this, too, will vary with the type of
software and type of market). Still, software
start-ups, especially in today’s commercial
marketplace, tend to focus the characteris-
tics described here to an extreme degree.
They represent a software industry segment
that has been mostly neglected in process
studies, and it is possible that lessons drawn
from start-ups also apply to other develop-
ment organizations.
Start-ups versus Small Companies
Some start-up companies are also small
companies, although by no means are all
start-up companies small or all small com-
panies start-ups. Small companies, like
start-ups, can face challenges in adopting
process-oriented technology and methodol-
ogy, although the reasons for this vary.
(Two important reasons commonly cited for
small companies are the lack of CMM
process improvement initiatives or their in-
applicability to the practices in small devel-
opment organizations.
2
) However, small
companies, especially those that are estab-
lished, can have certain advantages over
EC Cubed (www.eccubed.com) provides a representative example of a
start-up software company focused on the commercial market. Founded in
December 1996, EC Cubed produces a suite of Java-based application com-
ponents for the rapid development of distributed e-commerce applications.
The company has received multiple rounds of venture-capital funding from a
growing number of funding sources. At the time of writing, EC Cubed em-
ployed about 100 people and was continuing to grow. Most employees
served in a technical capacity and were divided between engineering and
professional services groups. The company has had two chief executives plus
an interim CEO, and in October 1999, it relocated its company headquarters
from Wilton, Connecticut, to Westborough, Massachusetts, to be closer to a
larger technical labor pool and to facilitate relationships with current and po-
tential partners and customers. Since then, the company has continued to
grow, spread geographically, and evolve its business and the way it works.
A Representative Start-Up