The need of a person oriented approach to software process assessment

This paper represents a coherent critique of software process assessment, focusing on the concerns and perceived shortcomings present. A call is made to re-direct attention and resources toward understanding the true nature of people in software process assessment. The important, possibly crucial role of people at an individual, team-based and organizational level in the assessment process that precedes software process improvement is discussed by considering such factors as the relationship between a person's perception of the software process, the learning process and motivation and using theory and empirical findings published in the literature. It is suggested that the poor recognition of the many human factors may be a major reason why the software process is so difficult to improve. It is argued that the clarification of such important issues will help to achieve a significant step forward in software process assessment and improvement; and lead to significant improvements in quality, satisfaction and performance. In order to systematize our position and future research, several statements are formulated concerning the importance of people.