A Process Research Framework: The International Process Research Consortium

Abstract : The discipline of software process management has grown remarkably since the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) introduced the concept in 1985. Since then, our work in software development process has spurred the growth of a worldwide market, connecting researchers, tool developers, consultants, educators, and software professionals. Today, de facto and de jure standards continue to emerge, signaling a maturing of the field. Yet, new opportunities and new challenges are already before us, extending the discipline of process management into exciting new areas. From software-intensive systems to the software-dependent enterprise, from health care to agriculture, and from technology acquirers to service providers, the SEI has seen growing demand to bring the benefits of process management to a diversity of software-critical domains. To prepare for the road ahead, the SEI undertook a collaborative effort with other leaders in the process community to explore process needs for today, the foreseeable future, and the unforeseeable future. In August of 2004, the SEI launched the International Process Research Consortium (IPRC) as the primary forum for accomplishing this task. Through a series of six workshops of intensive discussion, debate, imagination, and expertise, the 28 members of the IPRC, along with the support of several notable and objective reviewers, developed this Process Research Framework. It is a thematic guide to critical process research. It is wide-ranging and far-reaching. And while the primary audience is the membership of the IPRC and the organizations and constituents they represent, it is our sincere hope that it will also prove valuable to those with the drive, the influence, and the vision to turn research into solutions.