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Copyright of Journal of Software Maintenance & Evolution: Research & Practice is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We present analysis of factors that de-motivate software practitioners from supporting software process improvement (SPI) initiatives, using a multidimensional scaling (MDS) technique. Our findings are based on an empirical study involving nearly 200 software practitioners from 13 UK companies. Our aim is to provide managers with a better understanding of the obstacles that prevent practitioners from supporting SPI. This insight should help SPI managers establish more effective SPI implementation strategies. In this article we re-introduce the use of MDS techniques in SPI research. MDS is a social science data analysis technique designed to generate a rich visual understanding of human issues. By using MDS we found evidence to suggest distinct clusters of de-motivators exist for different staff groups. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present empirical findings from our study of software practitioners. We used the repertory grid technique to collect data from nearly 200 developers, project managers and senior managers in 13 companies. The aim of this study is to investigate the perceptions that different staff groups have regarding their role in SPI. Our results allow improved understanding of the SPI concerns and needs that different staff groups have. We suggest that this improved understanding will enable SPI managers to develop multi-strand SPI implementation strategies which deliver benefit to all staff groups. Delivering SPI benefit to all staff groups increases buy-in at all levels and means that SPI can be more successful in the long term. Our main findings are that all staff groups are in close agreement about their roles in SPI. However software developers often have a limited view of SPI and are unable to perceive themselves in some of the roles that successful case studies on SPI recommend. For example, developers do not see themselves assuming ownership of processes. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present survey data characterizing the implementation of SPI in 85 UK companies. We aim to provide SPI managers with more understanding of the critical success factors of implementing SPI. We present an analysis of the critical implementation factors identified in published case studies. We use a questionnaire to measure the use of these factors in ‘typical’ software companies. We found that many companies use SPI but the effectiveness of SPI implementation is variable. Many companies inadequately resource SPI and fail to evaluate the impact of SPI. On the other hand, companies show a good appreciation of the human factors associated with implementing SPI. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]