After the assessment: actions and reactions of 22 small Australian firms

Abstract

As part of the SPICE phase three trials, a large group of small Australian firms were assessed using the RAPID assessment method. This paper summarises the organisational and project characteristics of the group, and the results of the assessments. About eight months after the assessments, follow-up meetings were held to determine the extent to which firms had implemented the assessors' recommendations and improved their processes. The actions reported varied: one firm improved the capability level of seven of the eight assessed processes; many others reported improvements to a lesser extent, while some firms provided reasons why no action had been taken. The discussion considers the readiness of small firms to undertake an assessment-based software process improvement (SPI) program, and also identifies lessons learnt from this experience.