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Going soft on quality?:Process management in the Scottish software industry

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Abstract

Despite their proliferation within the industry, quality assurance standards are insufficient to ensure effective software development. Scottish software companies are now highly sensitive to limitations imposed by the standards movement, flagging the need for more explicit attention to work organization and human resource issues. This article examines efforts to broaden the focus of quality management within the software industry, charting the impact of theoretical and practical initiatives and identifying the mediating role of commercial pressures, the consultancy marketplace and, crucially, staff reactions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management Studies, University of Glasgow, 59 Southpark Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8LF

    Martin Beirne & Androniki Panteli

  2. Department of Human Resource Management, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow

    Harvie Ramsay

Authors
  1. Martin Beirne
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  2. Androniki Panteli
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  3. Harvie Ramsay
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Beirne, M., Panteli, A. & Ramsay, H. Going soft on quality?:Process management in the Scottish software industry. Software Quality Journal 6, 195–209 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018564019365

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018564019365

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