Organizational Factors that Affect the Software Quality A Case Study at the Engineering Division of a Selected Software Development Organization in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The objective of this study is to identify the critical factors affecting the software quality at the engineering division of a selected software development organization in Sri Lanka. The purpose of the study is to identify the critical organizational factors that affect the software quality in the selected organization, determine the relationship and impact of those factors to software quality and provide recommendations and strategies to improve software quality. Having conducted a critical literature review, four independent variables have been identified which are staff training & development, coworker relationships, diversity of the team and knowledge sharing. A quantitative survey was carried out with a population of 110 and sample size of 86 senior engineers. The data analysis has been conducted using SPSS 19.0 tool and hypothesis validation was carried out using Pearson correlation, regression and significance values. The research findings showcase that, knowledge sharing has the strongest relationship towards software quality. Staff training and development and co-worker relationships also hold a relationship on software quality whereas diversity of the team does not claim a relationship on software quality. This research would help the software organizations to uplift the software quality by various strategies such as improving existing knowledge management systems with new features, introducing certification process for staff trainings and team building activities. This research could be further enhanced with a larger sample size with the use of other qualitative survey techniques.