FAQs - Role of Management Commitment in Making Software Process Improvement Happen

Q: What do you consider are the three important success factors for process improvement effort?


A: I think most important and critical success factors in process improvement initiatives are:

1. Have a Process Improvement Group to carry out process improvement activities. Group must have some capabilities otherwise it will be useless and its existence or inexistence is equal. (You know we use a term in Urdu “safaid Hathi” mean white elephant). Following are some of necessary capabilities
1. All members should know what does “process” and “process improvements” mean as well as know-how and agreed upon the importance of SPI.
2. A shared vision among the group on problems, issues and challenges faced by the organization; future business goals and intentions of the organization and the benefits of SPI that how SPI will address their problems and issues, how SPI will cope the business challenges as well as how and what extent SPI will satisfy and help in achieving business goals.
3. Group have representation of all effected functions of the organization (like from QA, PMs, Development, Operations as well as from business development if possible)
4. Group should be Led by the most effective and knowledge able personality among the group in context of processes implementation
2. Have an effective and efficient Process Implementation System in-place to deploy and implement the processes in the projects and other organization functions (departments like CM, Trainings, Purchase, HR)
3. Strong Management Commitment

Q: What are your views about management commitment? How you value it for the success of process improvement initiatives?

A: I consider the management commitment as one of most critical success factors for an SPI program. When I say Management Commitment, I mean two aspects of the commitment. One is Financial Commitment and other is Close Monitoring by Management and lack of any aspect can lead the SPI program to an unsuccessful end.

Financial commitment is very important to run any kind of initiative. It is required to acquire suitable human and other resources, setup a necessary infrastructure, etc. Most important aspect of financial commitment is its continuity till the successful completion of the SPI program, especially in the crises period or in case of failure in some big project or service. As for as Management Monitoring is concerned, it have become a challenge for the success of SPI programs. Lessons learned from many SPI initiatives in software industry have proved that in the organizations where higher management (at director level) itself is not monitored the progress and resolved the issues, SPI programs have been delayed or completely failed. On the other hand, in organizations, where higher management involved in status review meeting and paid a close attention to resolve the issues and dependencies, are very successful in their SPI programs.

Management involvement is also a source of continuous motivation for those who are not very proactive and ambitious regarding the SPI spatially for those SEPG members, who are participating part time on voluntary basis.