Software quality: perceptions of managers and developers.

The research presented in this paper focuses on software quality in small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ireland. We carried out qualitative research with software developers and managers, where we examined the general state of software quality within their company and followed this up with a detailed analysis of the specific software quality and maintenance processes used in their company. Following data analysis we achieved an understanding of the attitudes of management and developers towards a range of issues. Those presented in this paper include the priority given to software process, the ranking of software processes and market-driving considerations. We conclude that there are still two major stakeholders who need to be convinced – management and customers – before software process will be adopted on a wide scale among SMEs.