Exploring Processes in Small Software Companies: A Systematic Review

Context: To attain an advantage over competitors, small software companies (SSCs) need to have an efficient software development process. However, systematic review studies that have examined the software development process within the context of SSCs are limited. Objective: Therefore, the objective of this paper is to rigorously assess the current state of practice of the software development process of SSCs using ISO/IEC 12207 standard as an analyzing framework. Method: A systematic literature review was conducted to analyze relevant papers published between 2004 and 2014. The selected papers were categorized according to the empirical technique used. A total of 41 primary papers focusing on various aspects of the software development process of SSCs were discovered out of 3841 papers. Results: Based on the evidence found in primary papers, requirement engineering, project planning, life cycle model management and configuration management are the frequently considered processes for improvement when software process improvement (SPI) programs are conducted in SSCs. In addition, understanding the collected requirements and communication barriers between product management and the rest of the work team were among the challenges observed and experienced by SSCs during the software development process.

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