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Process excellence and capability determination

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BT Technology Journal

Abstract

BT is faced with a constant challenge to deliver quality software against increasing customer demands. It is important to understand the processes in use and to be able to continually improve them. The first step was the adoption of ISO9001 and then ISO9000-3 (TickIT)) within BT. These standards were, however, while useful, considered too prescriptive to fully meet our needs. A new standard, ISO 15504 also known as SPICE, moves us forward from the prescriptive audit method towards a flexible assessment approach. SPICE provides a measure of the maturity of a process against a defined model of best practice, rather than a pass/fail result as with ISO9001. This paper presents an overview of the emerging SPICE standard, together with a discussion on its potential benefits for BT.

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Mackie, C. Process excellence and capability determination. BT Technology Journal 15, 130–139 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018646521455

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