Critical success factors and barriers for lightweight software process improvement in agile development: A literature review

Elia Kouzari, Vassilis C. Gerogiannis, Ioannis Stamelos, George Kakarontzas

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

    Abstract

    The majority of software development companies are significantly benefitted by adopting software process improvement (SPI). This has been extensively addressed both in terms of research and established standards. In particular, the need for SPI in the context of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) led a lot of researchers to focus on this area. SMEs struggle daily to survive in a very competitive environment and their distinguishing characteristics such as the small number of employees, the flat and small organizational structure and the flexibility that governs them make it hard for them to adopt and implement SPI. On the same spirit, their distinguishing characteristics are also those that make SMEs an ideal environment for the adoption of agile methodologies. The agility that governs SMEs allows flexibility in every process they apply and, thus, promotes lightweight SPI approaches in order to remain on the battle fields of competition. In this article, we examine the special characteristics SMEs have and highlight critical success factors that should be taken advantage of and barriers that could be avoided during SPI, as they are presented in the relevant literature. In addition, we examine how critical success factors of SPI could positively affect a firm's Return on Investment and, consequently, help the firm survive in the long-term.

    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationICSOFT-EA 2015 - 10th International Conference on Software Engineering and Applications, Proceedings; Part of 10th International Joint Conference on Software Technologies, ICSOFT 2015
    PublisherSciTePress
    Pages151-159
    Number of pages9
    ISBN (Electronic)9789897581144
    Publication statusPublished - 2015
    Event10th International Conference on Software Engineering and Applications, ICSOFT-EA 2015 - Colmar, Alsace, France
    Duration: 20 Jul 201522 Jul 2015

    Other

    Other10th International Conference on Software Engineering and Applications, ICSOFT-EA 2015
    Country/TerritoryFrance
    CityColmar, Alsace
    Period20/07/1522/07/15

    Keywords

    • Agile development
    • Barriers
    • Critical success factors
    • Return on investment
    • Software process improvement

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Critical success factors and barriers for lightweight software process improvement in agile development: A literature review'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this