Tensions around the adoption and evolution of software quality management systems: a discourse analytic approach

doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2003.12.011

International Journal of Human-Computer Studies

Volume 61, Issue 2, August 2004, Pages 219-236

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2003.12.011 Get rights and content

Abstract

This paper reports some results from a project to uncover the non-technical factors that affect the adoption and evolution of software quality management systems (SQMS). The data which the paper discusses comes from interviews with people involved in the quality effort in four different companies. Our approach to data collection was to use semi-structured interviews and to encourage interviewees to talk about their experiences of quality management and software development in their own organizations. We analysed this data using discourse analysis, informed by ethnographic observation, and identified a number of themes, one of which was the tensions that exist around the adoption and evolution of SQMS. In this paper, we present and discuss our approach to discourse analysis and some results that illustrate the tensions we found. We hope, thereby, to demonstrate how software engineers may use a technique from the social sciences to better understand their own practices.

Section snippets

Background

This paper describes the collection and analysis of qualitative empirical data to investigate the non-technical factors influencing the adoption and evolution of software quality management systems (SQMSs). We collected a variety of data through our project, but in this paper we concentrate on data from semi-structured interviews conducted with quality managers.

The importance of non-technical factors in the success of software engineering projects has been recognized for many years (e.g.

Research method

In this paper we focus on data from the initial interviews with quality managers. We do not consider the data gathered from the company where we conducted participant observation, since the type and amount of data available for this company is very different from the other companies, and this would lead to an imbalanced view. The data collected was analysed using discourse analysis.

Results

A set of recurrent themes were highlighted by the interviewees in their data. This included organizational coherence (indicated by the attitude of the interviewee to the company); degree of involvement from developers in the quality process; motivation for developing a quality management system at all; the (lack of) formal external influences such as quality agencies; and informal influences such as those from peer networks and colleagues. One theme that emerged strongly was the existence of

Discussion of results

In this section, we discuss our results in the light of others’ work in empirical investigations of software process improvement and organizational change literature.

Discussion and conclusion

In this paper, we have reported some results emerging from a study of the non-technical factors affecting SQMSs focusing on the existence of tensions around their adoption and evolution. These results were achieved using discourse analysis supported by an ethnographic stance, an approach that we believe is novel in understanding software practice. We conclude by reflecting on our use of discourse analysis, the results we have described and further development of these ideas.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all those who took part in our studies for their time and patience. The work reported on here was partly funded by The Open University's Research Development Fund.

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Tensions around the adoption and evolution of software quality management systems: a discourse analytic approach

Abstract

Section snippets

Background

Research method

Results

Discussion of results

Discussion and conclusion

Acknowledgements

Journal of Systems and Software

Productivity and Quality

Software process improvement motivatorsan analysis using multidimensional scaling

Empirical Software Engineering

Identification of the critical factors of TQM

Decision Sciences

Organisational Culture

The Human Side of Mergers and Acquisitions

Quality is Free

A field study of the software design process for large systems

Communications of the ACM.

The People CMMGuidelines for Improving the Workforce

Corporate Culturesthe Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life

Peoplewareproductive projects and teams

Out of the Crisis

Out of the CrisisQuality, Productivity and Competitive Position

An instrument for measuring the key factors of success in software process improvement

Empirical Software Engineering

An Introduction to Discourse AnalysisTheory and Method