| This study examined the impact of the behavioral attitude of software engineers towards software process improvement practices on software maintenance cost. The study used the technology acceptance model to assess the relationship between software developers' attitudes and software maintenance cost. Data was gathered using a 78-item, Web-based questionnaire that measured software attitude, organizational factors, project factors, process maturity and demographic factors. The results are based on self-reported data from 99 software developers and software project managers working in a Fortune 500 corporation, spanning over 20 projects. While the results showed strong relationships between the research model's intervening variables, the findings did not show a significant correlation between software developer's attitude towards software process improvement practices and software maintenance cost. The results show that software developers will adopt and use software process improvement best practices if they perceive them to be useful and easy to use. What is not clear is whether or not developers' attitudes towards usage of software best practices have any impact on developer perceived software maintenance effort (cost). |
