Supporting the Definition of Software Processes at Consulting Organizations via Software Process Lines

Software Process Consulting Organizations (SPCOs) support other organizations to define, deploy, and improve their software processes. Usually they are requested to define similar processes to different organizations, leading to some process reuse opportunities. Software Process Lines (SPLs) are reusable process architectures that model similarities and variabilities among processes, and could be of great value for SPCOs to derive multiple processes based on the same original SPL. This paper presents a reuse-based software process definition approach that aims at making it easier for consulting organizations to define reusable processes. We describe the main concepts related to a SPL, and how to define and use them in this context. We also present a supporting tool to define SPLs and derive defined processes. Finally, we present a usage experience of the approach in the context of a SPCO in Brazil.