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A Publication for Information Technology Professionals
Continuous Improvement in Software Development
Lori Holmes, Director
Total Quality Management (TQM) is a buzzword
heard today throughout all industries. It involves
many concepts and ideas. This article will address
the TQM concept, continuous improvement, as it
applies to software development.
Typically in software development the focus is on
problem solving. In addition, continuous
improvement involves examining processes to
proactively determine improvement opportunities.
Both problems and opportunities can be addressed
using the same methodology. The steps involved are
similar to what software professionals typically
follow on a day-to-day basis. TQM provides the
framework to formalize these steps. The TQM
framework for continuous improvement does not
need to be complicated.
Often organizations implementing TQM make the
mistake of requiring continuous improvement to be
formal, time consuming and to involve many people.
Part of making continuous improvement continuous
is to make it easy for employees to make changes as
they deem necessary. A process should always be
followed, but complexity and duration is unique to
each situation. For example, improving estimating or
productivity may involve several people and take
time to break down the issues. On the other hand,
changing communication processes between
departments can be handled quickly with minimal
involvement. Each contributor must determine how
involved the process should be based on his or her
knowledge of the issue and the organization.
The formal continuous improvement methodologies
that are most successful involve the following steps:
1. Describe the Issue; 2. Determine the Cause; 3.
Resolve the Issue; and 4. Follow-Up. The following
addresses each step in more detail.
DESCRIBE THE ISSUE
This step invol