| The purpose of this study was to create a parsimonious, theory-driven survey that measured those dimensions of organizational culture most related to successful quality initiative implementations in system/software development organizations. To that end, the literatures of quality, software process improvement, and organizational culture were examined and synthesized. The construct Software Culture of Quality (SW/COQ) was defined and hypothesized as a second order factor, consisting of 5 dimensions, time orientation, goal orientation, process orientation, communications style, and professional/parochial climate. A 25-question survey, based on the literature and the 5 hypothesized dimensions, was developed and piloted. It was completed by 264 members of 15 United States-based Software Process Improvement Network organizations. A structural equation model of the a priori construct was built, tested, and rejected, leading to an exploratory factor analysis of the data. A 22-question, 3-factor model of SW/COQ, with the dimensions open communication, process orientation, and quality commitment emerged. |
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