Accession Number:

ADA327609

Title:

Radical Improvements Require Radical Actions: Simulating a High-Maturity Software Organization.

Descriptive Note:

Final rept.,

Corporate Author:

CARNEGIE-MELLON UNIV PITTSBURGH PA SOFTWARE ENGINEERING INST

Personal Author(s):

• Burke, Steven

Report Date:

1997-06-01

Pagination or Media Count:

81.0

Abstract:

This report describes the methodology used to create a simulation of a high-maturity software organization and the results of this simulation. The goal of this research was to find the quantitative value of improving from Capability Maturity Model sm CMMsm Level 3 to Level 5. The method was to simulate a high-maturity organization using its actual empirical data and then cut out the high-maturity elements of the simulation. The resulting change in software size, effort, schedule, and quality would be a more accurate measure of the value of high maturity than working forward with a low or medium-maturity organization and merely hypothesizing the activities and values of high maturity. The author used computer simulations based on systems thinking and systems dynamics, which reasonably modeled the soft variables of the people aspects of an organization personnel attitudes, learning curve, participation in software process improvement, etc.. The simulation also related the soft variables to the hard variables of a software organizations life cycle process software size, effort, schedule, quality, etc..

Descriptors:

• *COMPUTER PROGRAMS
• *COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
• *ORGANIZATION THEORY
• SIMULATION
• MEASUREMENT
• SIZES(DIMENSIONS)
• DYNAMICS
• ACCURACY
• VARIABLES
• PERSONNEL
• LEARNING CURVES

Subject Categories:

• Computer Programming and Software

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE