Accessing Software Processes: Low Maturity or Sensible Practice

Software Process Improvement efforts rely heavily on the use of software capability maturity models. These models are used to identify problems in an organization’s software processes and point to, and prioritize, necessary improvements. Using models for this purpose will, however, automatically turn our attention to certain problems and issues and ignore others. In this paper we argue that the maturity models provide only one perspective on software processes and software process problems. We demonstrate how we, by looking at the organizational context of and the conflicts and uncertainties facing software projects may uncover alternative interpretations of software practices, and identify other problems. The implications for SPI and for the use of maturity models are discussed.