Improving software development practices through components

Software crisis, a concept coined many years ago but still true today, synthesizes the chronic inadequacy of the software firm to satisfy customer needs. Software development is a very complex process that has not achieved the maturity level that the market requires; software engineering and specific technologies like object orientation and components promise to raise the process capability, reducing development time and costs and increasing software quality. This paper presents a case study concerning the improvement of the software development process of a small Italian firm through the adoption of a component-based approach. It describes the methodology adopted from a technical point of view, and details the impact that the improvement action had on the organization.