Chapter 1: Introduction

Overview

The return on investment (ROI) of software process improvement (SPI) is an indispensable tool for determining how effective an organization is at computer programming. The ROI of SPI also extends to the fields of software engineering, information technology, and commercial shrink-wrapped software. The ROI of SPI is useful for providers of high-technology products and services. ROI is not limited to a single market sector, but rather applies equally to the commercial, government, and military sectors. ROI of SPI is useful for ensuring the peak operating efficiency of large, nonprofit organizations in terms of dollars and cents .

The ROI of SPI involves determining how much money a new software tool, process, or methodology yields. ROI reveals how much money a software engineering standard yields on the bottom-line corporate balance sheet. It can also reveal how much money a training program, improvement initiative, or new organizational design yields. The ROI of SPI is an invaluable measurement instrument for stakeholders at all levels of a corporation and organization. ROI enables stakeholders to design the most effective strategies to achieve the maximum benefits. The benefits are often expressed in terms of productivity, quality, profits, and peak operating efficiency.

The ROI of SPI answers the basic question, "How effective is my software engineering in economic or monetary terms?" Gone are the days when processes were improved for the sake of merely changing. Instead, we now ask the question, "What is the economic impact of changing the software process?"