The impact of the ISO 9000:2000 quality standards in small software firms

The aim of this study is to evaluate the current approach to qualitymanagement practices in the smallfirm software industry. In particular, the impact of the revised ISO 9000:2000 quality standard is explored with regard to this sector. The research methodology involves a multiple casestudy approach, guided by an initial exploratory survey, involving small software firms from Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland. The case approach includes semistructured interviews, organisational information, and archive data. In summary, the research findings indicate that the state of qualitymanagement practices in the software industry is very weak. However, there is a perception in the industry that effective qualitymanagement systems can play a key role in improving both operational and strategic business performance. Thus, there is a significant opportunity for improvement in the software industry and for the incidence of largescale project failure to be diminished.