A Methodology for Self-Diagnosis for Software Quality Assurance in Small and Medium-Sized Industries in Latin America

Abstract

Currently, only a small fraction of software companies around the world achieve a high quality level for their development process. A vast majority of software producers, which have not yet implemented a methodology for software quality assurance, are paying high costs of production and systems maintenance, and are therefore being displaced from the global market, not being on the same competitiveness level than companies that posses a quality assurance method. There are several models for software quality assurance, such as the Capability Maturity model (CMM), the Software Process Improvement and Capability dEtermination (SPICE) and the ISO 9000 norm from the International Standarization Organization. These models provide quality patterns that a company should adhere to, therefore improving its software production process. Unfortunately, the successful implementation of such models is not generally possible within the context of small and medium-sized software organizations in Latin America, given deterring factors such as cultural impact and lack of resources, among others. Our proposal for implementing and improving software quality assurance methods on such companies is a new methodology for self-diagnosis, based on concepts, goals and activities defined by CMM. Companies with minimal experience can use this methodology with quality standard methods. We also define rules that allow the automation of the methodology through the use of an expert system, which would play the role of a “virtual quality auditor”, supporting the definition of an action plan and thus reducing the investment required for processes improvement.