Key factors of process maturity in English-speaking Caribbean firms

Abstract

The information system (IS) community has been struggling with the delivery of low quality systems. Software process improvement (SPI) has been accepted as one of the remedies to overcome this problem, with process maturity being a key element. However, most studies on process maturity and the determinants of IS quality have been conducted in large firms in developed countries. This study assessed the key determinants of process maturity in small software development firms in the English-speaking Caribbean (ESC). Using the established practices in the capability maturity model integration (CMMI) as the baseline for the analysis, it was found that project monitoring & control, and verification & validation are key determinants of process maturity in the ESC. These findings can assist IS professionals in their quest to produce higher quality software products, as well as provide a platform for further refinement of the proposed research model by IS researchers.