A quantitative approach to software process management

Describes real experiences of software process management based on the Software Engineering Institute´s Capability Maturity Model (SEI CMM) assessment method and the AMI (assess/analyse, metricate, improve) approach. The AMI method is a 12-step supported approach to implementing measurement. It ensures benefits for project planning and management, cost-effectiveness and match of quality objectives. The AMI project was partly funded by the Commission of the European Communities (CEC) and was led by practitioners in the European software industry. The experiences discussed in the paper follow a goal-question-metric (GQM) derived method and mix business goals defined by senior management with the results of an SEI assessment. This enables generation of action lists, with associated measurements to follow the progress of the actions. The experiments have been running at industrial sites and, although the process management initiative still has some way to go before completion, a number of major benefits have already been observed