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Enterprise SPICE is an international initiative to develop an Enterprise Integrated Standards-Based model for use with international standard ISO/IEC 15504 (SPICE).

Enterprise SPICE will integrate and harmonize existing standards as determined by the project stakeholders to provide a single process reference model and process assessment model that addresses broad enterprise processes and which will provide an efficient and effective mechanism for assessing and improving processes deployed across an enterprise.

For further information on Enterprise SPICE visit the Enterprise SPICE web site.

SPICE Vision is a powerful new tool for conducting assessments based on the new ISO/IEC 15504 standard. It provides powerful note taking capabilities to support assessment preparation, evidence recording and report preparation. SPICE Vision is available in two versions: standard and professional. The professional version supports merging of assessment files and full editing of standards frameworks.

Richard Basque interviews companies and consultants about their process improvement initiatives. These interviews were made by the Process Improvement Network (Alcyonix, Qualium, Impronova and InterSPICE)

Ken Thompson, speaking at the 2006 SPICE Conference in Luxembourg facilitated an interactive session with leading practitioners and researchers in the field of Software Process Improvement (SPI) on this challenging question 'Can software engineering teams adapt biological principles?'

Ken is an ex-software engineer and now works to improve the effectiveness of all kinds of teams including software engineering teams.

"Nature's best teams demonstrate neither thinking nor beliefs, they are it is simply stimulus-response engines, yet they can achieve things totally out of proportion to their size and brainpower".

But can our software engineering teams, which perhaps represent the pinnacle of intensive knowledge-based teamwork, learn anything from these ‘bioteams’?

Ken first introduced the results of research carried out over the last two years in the area of bioteaming.

This has resulted in a ‘bioteaming manifesto’ with 12 practical rules for making a team more effective through biological principles.

At the conference we then used the manifesto in a unique real-time interactive session using mobile phones and wireless internet to stimulate ideas on how these principles might be adapted for software engineering teams?

As part of the conference we also initiated a research survey to establish the impact of team member beliefs on software team performance.

Here is the Conference keynote

 
To download a PDF of Ken's presentation click here

Are you for SPICE or CMMI?
Which is the best approach?
Does it really matter?


ISO9001 versus CMMI and SPICE
Is ISO9001 is the best approach? or
Are Maturity Models (such as CMMI and SPICE) the best approach?
Can both live side by side?


Should we ditch the processes, SEPG and quality manager -  and use agile methods? or
Do we need defined processes to ensure predictability - are we kidding  ourselves using extreme programming and agile methods?

Provide your throughs or story in 60 or less.
Make a statement in 60 characters (e.g. Quality is free)
Elaborate your thoughts in 60 words
Provide your podcast or videocast to tell your story in 60 seconds
Send your inputs to info@isospice.com

ISO/IEC 15504 is published as a full international standard under the general title Information Technology — Process Assessment. It consists of the following parts:

• Part 1 - Concepts and vocabulary
• Part 2 - Performing an assessment
• Part 3 - Guidance on performing an assessment
• Part 4 - Guidance on use for process improvement and process capability determination
• Part 5 - An exemplar process assessment model for software life cycle processes
• Part 6 - An exemplar process assessment model for systems life cycle processes 
• Part 7 - Assessment of organizational maturity (expected publication 2008)

SPICE in other languages will provide news in your local language. Register to become a contributor - see Site Menu - Become an Author.

The Software Quality Institute at Griffith University is pleased to announce the availability of the Beta Release of the Appraisal Assistant tool.