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RESEARCH PRODUCT

A STEEPLED Analysis of the SPI Manifesto

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Software Process Improvement (SPI) has been founded on the belief that a well-defined and executed process is likely to produce a high-quality pro-duct. Improving a product might provide insights for future improvement efforts. However, this bottom-up approach does not necessarily lead to improvement, considering in particular that software products/artefacts are usually, unique. In contrast, an improved process is a top-down approach, which is applicable to all products (outputs and outcomes). The SPI Manifesto places people, business focus, and organisational change at the core of Software Process Improvement practices. In so doing, certain SPI principles guide the behaviour of individuals, groups, and organisations in their efforts to improve process. The SPI principles form the basis for elaborating on certain values and serve as a foundation for action in software development. In this paper the authors carry out a STEEPLED [Sociocultural, Technical, Economic, Environmental, Political, Legal, Ethical and Demographic] analysis of the SPI Manifesto. STEEPLED is a multidimensional and multi-faceted analysis tool which assists in identifying the strengths, gaps and impact of the SPI Manifesto. Future work for the SPI Manifesto aims at (i) proposing enhancement modifications to its values and principles and (ii) enriching the SPI Manifesto with the addition of a comparative and practical philosophy level.