Implementing Software Process Improvement Initiatives: An Analysis of Vietnamese Practitioners' Views

There is a vital need for gaining a solid understanding of different aspects of implementing SPI initiatives in organizations involved in software outsourcing and/or off-shoring, which are parts of Global Software Development (GSD) phenomenon. However, little attention has been paid to understand difficulties and challenges involved in implementing SPI programs in developing countries like Vietnam and Malaysia, which are emerging as key players in the context of GSD. This paper presents findings from an empirical study aimed at exploring practitioners' experiences and perceptions of different aspects of implementing SPI initiatives. Face-to-face meeting sessions were conducted with twenty-three software development practitioners from eight Vietnamese software development organisations, which were involved in software outsourcing contracts and had initiated SPI programs. The results provide interesting insights into different aspects of SPI initiatives. We expect that the findings can provide some advice to SPI practitioners on what needs to be addressed when developing SPI implementation initiatives in countries like Vietnam.