Influential factors in software process improvement: a survey comparing "Micro and Small Enterprises" (MSE) and "Medium and Large Enterprises" (MLE)

Despite some suppositions about the difficulties of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) to adapt the process improvement models and standards, there exist few systematic researches concerning this respect. This paper describes the statistical results of a survey of 81 software development companies in Santa Catarina, which compares MSEs with medium and large enterprises (MGES) considering factors that may influence the adoption of a program of process improvement software. Following a methodology for planning, execution and statistical analysis of results, the conclusion reached was that in 49% of the surveyed factors, exist significant differences between the two groups of companies.