Open AccessAttaining and sustaining organisational excellence: process improvement as a moving target
Author(s) -
Dalcher Darren
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
software process: improvement and practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1099-1670
pISSN - 1077-4866
DOI - 10.1002/spip.410
Subject(s) - excellence , process (computing) , maturity (psychological) , capability maturity model , best practice , process management , identification (biology) , performance management , knowledge management , business , government (linguistics) , operational excellence , six sigma , computer science , marketing , software , management , political science , linguistics , philosophy , botany , lean manufacturing , economics , biology , programming language , law , operating system
Welcome to another issue of SPIP. The interest in process improvement and maturity and capability models appears to be contagious as it grips an ever increasing number of domains and disciplines ranging from testing to risk management and from project management to organisational leadership. What they share is the pursuit of improvement goals that can translate into enhanced organisational capability and performance. This issue brings together the global experiences and new ideas of different organisations. Gaining a high level of maturity is defined as a target by an increasing number of organisations. However, sustaining performance at a high level implies being able to evolve the process continuously to meet changing needs and expectations. Improvement can be facilitated through the identification and addressing of strengths and weaknesses. The paper by Malheiros, Paim and Mendonca describes the lessons learned by Serpo, the largest (IT) services company in Latin America which is owned by the Brazilian Government. The organisation has thousands of developers spread over multiple units and areas. In the past 6 years, Serpo’s software process improvement approach has altered the practices as