European Software and Systems Initiative: Software Best Practice
Enterprises in all developed sectors of the economy are becoming increasingly dependent on the relevance and quality of software-based systems. More and more organizations are finding that software development is a key part of their process and that they need to develop software efficiently, effectively and with consistently high quality in order to maintain their competitiveness and profitability. - What is Software Best Practice? Software Best Practice is a group of actions being supported by the European Commission to promote improvements in the software development process. The actions are aimed at the application of mature, proven and appropriate methods and technologies in the software development process. The goal is to provide increased efficiency, higher quality and greater economy for European organizations involved in software development through the adoption of thoroughly researched concepts, tools and technologies. For instance, the introduction of a Configuration Management System, the use of a Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tool, the definition of change control procedures, and the use of object oriented programming, are examples of possible measures needed to implement Software Best Practice. Software Best Practice, however, is more than just a technological issue. Often process improvements are accompanied by considerable change to the skills of the professionals involved and their way of working. Hence, Software Best Practice also embraces people and organizational issues. A pilot phase of Software Best Practice was initiated under the auspices of the European Systems and Software Initiative (ESSI), an accompanying measure to the European Commission's ESPRIT programme, in 1993. The results so far have been very encouraging and it is proposed that further actions be undertaken in the forthcoming specific programme for information technologies within the Fourth Framework Programme. - Who will benefit from Software Best Practice? Any European organization in any market sector involved in software development can benefit from Software Best Practice. However, as the majority of software is produced by organizations in the non-IT sector and by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), it is these two groups who are likely to benefit the most. - What is the strategy for Software Best Practice? The objectives of the initiative will be achieved by undertaking activities which: . Raise the awareness of European industry to the importance of efficient software development; . Demonstrate, through experimentation, the benefits that can be achieved; . Create communities of common interest to influence suppliers; . Raise the skill levels of software development professionals; . Enable the sharing of information and the exchange of experiences. - What is proposed for the next phase? The next phase of ESSI will aim to provide support for software developing organizations at different stages of maturity, through five lines of complementary action. Assessments will be available as stand-alone actions for organizations who are just starting to improve their development process. An assessment will provide a baseline for an organization to decide subsequently on the best way forward and to measure future progress. Process Improvement Experiments (PIEs) will form the bulk of the Best Practice Initiative. They will demonstrate the benefits of software process improvement on a real underlying project through a controlled, limited experiment. Proposers must demonstrate that the experiment being undertaken can later be replicated throughout the organization - in other words that the actions proposed are strategic. The emphasis will be on continuous improvement through small, stepped actions. A proposing organization is expected to have already assessed its current situation and have an outline plan of the improvements necessary. It will define measurable goals for the experiment and will undertake a final comparison of the situation before and after the changes to assess whether the goals have been achieved. The lessons learnt from the experiment will be used internally within the company to improve the production process and will be disseminated externally so that a wider community may also benefit from the experience. A typical PIE will have a budget of between ECU 100,000 and 500,000 and will last no more than 18 months. Funding will be available for the additional marginal costs incurred in carrying out the actions; no funding will be available for the underlying development costs. Experience networks will facilitate the exchange of experiences and provide an open forum for discussion between software developers. These groups of users will have the critical mass necessary to influence their suppliers through the formulation of clear requirements. Training actions will improve the skill levels of software developers in, for example, quality issues such as configuration management. They will act as a catalyst by concentrating on the training of trainers who in turn will train the users. There will also be actions to increase the general level of awareness of the benefits of Software Best Practice, for example to senior managers. In addition, there will be the opportunity for experts from experienced organizations to offer their services as mentors to other perhaps less advanced organizations to help them in improving their software process. Dissemination actions will ensure that the experiences gained in the Process Improvement Experiments are disseminated across Europe, to promote further interest in the adoption of Software Best Practice. The next series of calls for proposals under ESSI is expected to be on 15 March 1995, at which time a Briefing Pack will be available giving information on how to submit a proposal.