Dynamics of leadership practices in a software process improvement initiative
Abstract
Studies on critical success factors in initiatives to improve software processes reinforce that factors related to leadership are determinant for their success. Thus, the present research aimed to understand how leadership practices occurred in an initiative to improve software processes. For this, a qualitative study was carried out in a software process improvement initiative that was successfully completed in the official MPS-SW evaluation at the G level of maturity in 2015. Data were collected in in-depth semi-structured interviews, in addition to Of the documentation provided by the company involved in the study. The thematic analysis was applied as a method of investigation of leadership practices in the case studied. We found different types of leadership practice that occurred in the case studied. This paper also shows how leadership practices are entangled in the daily work of the organizational unit during the software process improvement initiative.References
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Bass, B. M. (1990) Bass & Stogdill’s handbook of leadership: theory, research and managerial application. New York, USA: The Free Press.
Black, S. A.; Porter, L. J. (1996) Identification of the critical factors of TQM. Decision Sciences, v. 27, n. 1, p. 1-21.
Braun, V.; Clarke, V. (2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, v. 3, n. 2, p. 77-101.
Burns, J. M. (2010) Leadership. New York, USA: Harpercollins Publichers.
Contandriopoulos AP, Champagne F, Potvin L, Denis JL, Boyle P. (1997) Saber preparar uma pesquisa. 2ª ed. São Paulo (SP): Hucitec.
Dinh, J. E. et al. (2014) Leadership theory and research in the new millennium: Current theoretical trends and changing perspectives. Leadership Quarterly, v.25, n.1, p.36-62.
Dybå (2003) Factors of software process improvement success in small and large organizations: an empirical study in the scandinavian context. ACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Notes, n. 7465, p. 148-157, 2003.
Dybå (2005) An empirical investigation of the key factors for success in software process improvement. Software Engineering, IEEE Transactions on, v. 31, n. 5, p. 410-424.
El Emam, K. et al. (2001) Modeling the likelihood of software process improvement: An exploratory study. Empirical Software Engineering, v. 6, p. 207-229.
Goldenson, D.; Herbsleb, J. (1995) After the appraisal: A systematic survey of process improvement, its benefits, and factors that influence success. Cmu/Sei-95-Tr-009, n. August.
Hart, S.; Quinn, R. (1993) Roles executives play: CEOs, behavioral complexity, and firm performance. Human Relations.
Heifetz, R. A. (1998) Leadership without easy answers. Oxford: TheBelknap Press of Harvard University Press.
Laporte, C. Y.; Trudel, S. (1998) Addressing the people issues of process improvement activities at Oerlikon Aerospace. Software Process: Improvement and Practice, v. 4, n. 4, p. 187.
Lawrence, K. A.; Street, T.; Quinn, R. E. (2003) Behavioral complexity in leadership: The psychometric properties of a new instrument.
Montoni, M.; Rocha, A. (2011) Uma investigação sobre os Fatores Críticos de Sucesso em iniciativas de melhoria de processos de software. In: SBQS – Simpósio Brasileiro de Qualidade de Software, Anais... SBQS, p. 151-166. Curitiba, PR Brazil.
Newstrom, J. W. (2008) Comportamento organizacional. 12. ed. McGraw Hill.
Niazi, M.; Wilson, D.; Zowghi, D. (2005) A maturity model for the implementation of software process improvement: an empirical study. Journal of Systems and Software, v. 74, n. 2, p. 155-172.
Northouse, P. G. (2007) Leadership : theory and practice. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Paulk, M. C. et al. (1993) Capability maturity model, version 1.1. IEEE Software, v. 10, n. 4, p. 18-27.
Powell, T. C. (1995) TQM as competitive advantage strategic. Management Journal. Disponível em: http://www.thomaspowell.co.uk/article_pdfs/TQM_as_CA.pdf. Acesso em: 25 de março de 2013
Quinn, R. E. Thompson, M.; Faerman, S. R.; Mcgrath, M. (2003) Competências gerenciais: princípios e aplicações. 1. ed. Elsevier.
Santos, G. (2011) Influência e impacto do Programa MPS.BR na pesquisa relacionada a qualidade de software no Brasil. In: SBQS – Simpósio Brasileiro de Qualidade de Software, Anais... SBQS, p. 73-87.
Saraph, J. V.; Benson, P. G.; Schroeder, R. G. (1989) An instrument for measuring the critical factors of quality management. Decision Sciences, v. 20, n. 4, p. 810-829.
Stelzer, D.; Mellis, W. (1999) Success factors of organizational change in software process improvement. Software Process Improvement and Practice, v. 4, n. 4, p.1-34.
Stogdill, R. M. Handbook of leadership: A survey of theory and research. New York, USA: Free Press.
Taylor, S. J.; Bogdan, R. (1974) Introduction to qualitative research methods: a guidebook and resource. New York, USA: Wiley, 1998.
Trevizan, M. A. et al. (1987) Estrutura teórica do Modelo Mintzberg. Revista Gaúcha de Enfermagem, v. 8, n. 2, p. 236-243.
Weber, K. C.; Macedo, M. De M.; Franco, N. H. (2015) Impactos socioeconômicos no Brasil do Modelo MPS-SW para Melhoria de Processos de Software. In: SBQS Simpósio Brasileiro de Qualidade de Software. Anais... Manaus (AM), 2015. Disponível em: http://www.softex.br/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/140339_2Ajustes-formais-Kival-v020614.pdf Acesso em: 21 jan. 2016.
Yukl, G. A. (2008) Leadership in organizations. 7th ed. ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Yusof, S. M.; Aspinwall, E. (1999) Critical success factors for total quality management implementation in small and medium enterprises totalvquality management.
Zoucas, A. et al. (2012) Revealing the influence of leadership on software process improvement initiatives. In: 2012 Eighth international conference on the quality of information and communications technology. Proceedings... p. 149-152.
Zoucas, A.; Thiry, M.; Cunha, C. (2012) Compreendendo a influência da liderança nas iniciativas de melhoria de processo de desenvolvimento de software. In: SBQS – Simpósio Brasileiro de Qualidade de Software. Anais...Fortaleza, CE Brasil.
Published
2017-08-28
How to Cite
ZOUCAS, Alessandra; CUNHA, Cristiano; THIRY, Marcello.
Dynamics of leadership practices in a software process improvement initiative. In: BRAZILIAN SOFTWARE QUALITY SYMPOSIUM (SBQS), 16. , 2017, Rio de Janeiro.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2017
.
p. 164-175.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/sbqs.2017.15099.
