Call to raise quality in New Zealand's software industry

The University of Auckland's Centre for Software Innovation (CSI) is calling for software companies to take part in a research project to improve their business performance.



The project has been made possible by a $3.4million grant from the Foundation of Research Science and Technology.



Over the next 12 months, the Centre will survey companies on their software process and product improvement, or 'SPPI'. It will then work with selected companies to significantly improve both the quality of their systems and the productivity of their software development.



Professor John Grundy, CSI Co-Director and Professor in Software Engineering from the Faculty of Engineering, says the Centre's applied research could return significant benefits to participating companies.



"We're looking for companies with a passion for improvement, which are keen to understand how to manage their processes and assess the quality of their products better. They must also be willing to invest staff time and to host students."



Grundy hopes the research initiative will spark a growing interest in SPPI from within New Zealand's software industry.



"We need New Zealand software companies to be at the top of their game. There are already companies in New Zealand that have their own SPPI groups and which recognise this project as tremendously important," says Professor Grundy. "This Centre is committed to understanding the industry's current and future challenges, and to put our research efforts into addressing this."



A number of companies have already worked with the Centre, including XSOL, which specialises in process mapping and automation, and Orion Health.



"Over time, our investment in SPPI will result in significant and measurable improvement in productivity and product quality," Professor Grundy says.



The Centre for Software Innovation involves researchers from the University's Computer Science Department in the Faculty of Science, and the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department in the Faculty of Engineering.



To register for the Centre for Software Innovation's SPPI project visit http://www.csi.ac.nz/services/software-process-and-product-improvement  or contact John Grundy at sppi@csi.ac.nz.