The role of software process improvement into total qualitymanagement: an industrial experience

摘要

NEC do Brasil-NDB is a telecommunication company that encompassesBrazilian and Latin America markets by providing products and solutionsto its customers. With its business, NDB has four areas, which areconcerned in software development: switching; wireless; transmission;and radio. NDB software teams perform customization of systems developedby other companies as well as the complete development of softwaresystems. These are real time systems and they control the functionalityof the telecommunications equipment, operate in commercial computers andin embedded systems. NDB has been developing since 1996 a specificprogram for Software Process Improvement. This R&D program is apartnership with University of Sao Paulo-USP and has been the firstBrazilian Telecommunication Company to apply the model SW-CMM andachieving Level 2 in 1997. The aim of this paper is to present NDB'sexperience in the implementation of software quality management-SQM, byapplying the experience culture and successful practices alreadyinstitutionalized in an environment of total quality management-TQU. Thepaper also proposes to answer doubts of implementation, problems facedin development of activities as well as the found solutions, lessonslearned and SQM benefits. SW-CMM is an application of TQM concepts tosoftware development and the success of TQM has inspired the softwareprocess improvement. Experience shows that a management structureestabished with TQM concepts is applicable and tailored, in many aspectsand features, for a SQM establishment. In spite of this experience andknowledge have great relation with SW-CMM some practices and the generalconcept can be applied in any of current models or standards forsoftware process improvement