Experiences Gained from Applying ISO/IEC 15504 to Small Software Companies in Brazil

Abstract

This paper describes some experiences gained from applying ISO/IEC 15504 for software process assessments focusing on process improvement in four small software companies in Brazil. The assessments have been realized in the context of the research project 15504MPE, which aims at the development of a customized assessment method based on the standard ISO/IEC 15504 adapted to small brazilian software companies. The paper reports some of our experiences regarding the application of the standard especially to this kind of company. Costs and benefits related to the assessments are also presented. 1