Self-assessment as a Path to Improvement and Recognition for Small Entities

Abstract

To better understand what they can or should change to improve their ability to perform, organizations can conduct organizational assessments. Self-assessments are often the first step in an organization’s journey towards effective outcomes. The goal of such assessments is to collect data that can help the organization evaluating whether or not it is making progress towards various goals. A large majority of organizations worldwide have up to 25 people and many of them develop software. Those VSEs (Very Small Entities i.e. enterprises, organizations, projects or departments with up to 25 people [1]), are interested and are aware about software process and quality standards and the potential benefits from having a quality standard, and in particular accreditation [2]. But several difficulties usually arise due to their daily operational constraints which may lean towards a no-go for the adoption of any new standard often starting with an assessment and aiming for ‘earning’ improvements and a certificate. The required time, the available resources, having a clear picture of the organizational goals, what to measure and which indicators to select are some of the key stoppers for VSEs engaging in necessary changes. This paper presents how to use ISO/IEC 29110 series, aimed at addressing the specific needs of VSEs, and why self-assessment is a good option for the VSEs to start improving their processes and be prepared for certification. At last it presents its contextualization against the SPI Manifesto.