Software Quality

The quality of the software process is measured by the M&A Index, an aggregate value defined by Martinig & Associates that tracks implementation of good practices across all the maturity levels defined by the CMM. A high score for the M&A Index reflect the good quality of the software development process of the software development unit. In our evaluations, process-related items were completed with questions on technologies, staffing and project achievements.

Figure 1. Software engineering training and process quality

Figure 2. Project management training and process quality

Among the related results of our evaluations, we found that one organisation out of three gives its software developers less than one week of training per year. One organisation out of two gives its software project managers less than one week of training per year.

As we see on the first chart, organisations giving less than 1 week of training each year to their software developers achieve a quality level that is only half of the level achieved by organisations that give their software developer more than two weeks of training. A similar difference, a little bit smaller however, can be detected in the second chart comparing quality levels and the amount of project management training.