Implementing software process improvement: two cases of technology transfer

This paper addresses the issue of technology transfer in software development organizations. Common problems for the software industry are still software failures, project overruns, and unfinished projects. To remedy these, knowledge-intensive technologies like quality management and software process improvement (SPI) have been promoted. The organizational implementation of such approaches is an important and problematic matter. Here, two cases of implementing SPI are reported. A framework integrating theories of general innovation with theories on adoption of information technologies is used to present and interpret the cases. The framework consists of three perspectives: an individualist, a structuralist, and an interaction process perspective. The latter comprises the first two and emphasizes the content, context and process of implementation. The framework turned out to be well suited and provided a rich understanding of the interplay of the different elements influencing the implementation process in the two cases. As such, it might be a useful guide for future SPI implementation in organizations.