Improving an Industrial Reference Process by Information Flow Analysis: A Case Study

Reference processes are supposed to be the basis for collaboration and mature cooperation in software development. Large business organizations need large and diverse reference processes. However, process conformance is a constant concern. There are many explanations why a project may deviate from its reference process. This is especially true in larger software companies with a lot of different projects and variants modeled in a single reference process. During an industrial cooperation we have identified a phenomenon that adds to the problem: Unclear and incorrect information flows. Process modeling notations and practices in many large organizations nurture information flow anomalies. We improved the information flows in the reference software process by means of information flow analysis and flow patterns. A comprehensible reference process with reasonable information flows is easier to understand and therefore gains acceptance in the project team.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2007
• Where: PROFES
• Authors: Kai Stapel, Kurt Schneider, Daniel Lübke, Thomas Flohr
• Keywords: Information Flows, PROFES 2007, Reference Process, Reference Processes