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Microsoft and Software Systems Process Improvement
The identified company for the process improvement is Microsoft. The company
designs software and computer that are categorized in system programs, driver
software, and application. Examples of software include Microsoft Office. This
software allows users to execute specific and complex tasks.
It combines all office use applications in one component like Microsoft Suit and many
others. The building process comprises many complex tasks. Examples include
building metric collection such as consumption, power, and time and security checks
known as 'smoke' tests to ensure localization of language.
The building system is cyclical and entails the collection of scripts, services, and
programs. The development team writes codes that are examined by the
development team.
The output goes back to the development team for modification and verification. This
cycle is important in developing efficient software within the set time and financial
budgets. The following is a proposal for the Microsoft software development
improvement process.
Improvement Goals
· Lowering operational expenses
· Lowering inventory of undeveloped and untested features of the software
· Increasing the throughput which is the number of features of the software
· Process Improvement Background
· Improve customer satisfaction
Industry-Accepted SDIP Methods
The success of the performance of any organization is built on continuous
improvement of the quality of products and services. The process requires a
complete understanding of the underlying principles and goals of the improvement
(Madaan, 2015).
An organization then shifts to creative adaptation, which is integrating tools and
techniques into a single and well-managed program. The software development
improvement process entails the sequences of operations, techniques of planning,
tools, and implementation of improvement in development activities.
The process strives to achieve particular goals like reducing the cost of operations,
maximizing the speed of development, and increasing the quality of the existing
software.
Software process improvement (SIP) involves the process of managing change or
re-engineering software to optimize its development lifecycle. It can focus on
inefficiencies in software and strategies for resolving them to increase their quality.
SIP has to align with organizational goals as a change for increasing its value.
Computer-aided software engineering (CASE) entails the improvement of the
process of software development using computerized methods and tools (Madaan,
2015). The objective of this technique is to guarantee the development of software
that is of high quality and free from defects.
It is a disciplined and check-point approach that supports developers, testers, team
leaders, and designers to outline the milestones of the development project. It is a
critical method that facilitates the delivery of the final software that meets the
expectations of users since it ensures that they are the focus of the development
process.
Software reliability engineering (SRE) is a collection of development methods that
employ various techniques for predicting the rate of failure prior to the release of
software using statistics (Srivastava & Awasthi, 2014).
It is among the methods that are accepted in the industry. It focuses on the
development of software that is free from failures in a specific environment at a
particular time. SRE is based on the function of the probability that is embedded in
time. The mechanical and electronic components of software may be worn out or get
old with time, although it will withstand these challenges in its life cycle.
The use of this method implies that the developed software will not change for a
specified time unless it is upgraded or changed intentionally. It is a significant
approach to the quality of the software since it focuses on its performance,
capability, maintainability, as well as the installation process.
This method is complex, which hinders the achievement of specified levels of quality
standards. The developers forward this complexity into the layer of the software.
The ISO 9000-3 model is accredited for used in the improvement of the development
process of software. The method focuses on the quality system that is used in
software development through the utilization of various techniques (Philips,
Zimme
Microsoft and Software Systems Process Improvement
The identified company for the process improvement is Microsoft. The company
designs software and computer that are categorized in system programs, driver
software, and application. Examples of software include Microsoft Office. This
software allows users to execute specific and complex tasks.
It combines all office use applications in one component like Microsoft Suit and many
others. The building process comprises many complex tasks. Examples include
building metric collection such as consumption, power, and time and security checks
known as 'smoke' tests to ensure localization of language.
The building system is cyclical and entails the collection of scripts, services, and
programs. The development team writes codes that are examined by the
development team.
The output goes back to the development team for modification and verification. This
cycle is important in developing efficient software within the set time and financial
budgets. The following is a proposal for the Microsoft software development
improvement process.
Improvement Goals
· Lowering operational expenses
· Lowering inventory of undeveloped and untested features of the software
· Increasing the throughput which is the number of features of the software
· Process Improvement Background
· Improve customer satisfaction
Industry-Accepted SDIP Methods
The success of the performance of any organization is built on continuous
improvement of the quality of products and services. The process requires a
complete understanding of the underlying principles and goals of the improvement
(Madaan, 2015).
An organization then shifts to creative adaptation, which is integrating tools and
techniques into a single and well-managed program. The software development
improvement process entails the sequences of operations, techniques of planning,
tools, and implementation of improvement in development activities.
The process strives to achieve particular goals like reducing the cost of operations,
maximizing the speed of development, and increasing the quality of the existing
software.
Software process improvement (SIP) involves the process of managing change or
re-engineering software to optimize its development lifecycle. It can focus on
inefficiencies in software and strategies for resolving them to increase their quality.
SIP has to align with organizational goals as a change for increasing its value.
Computer-aided software engineering (CASE) entails the improvement of the
process of software development using computerized methods and tools (Madaan,
2015). The objective of this technique is to guarantee the development of software
that is of high quality and free from defects.
It is a disciplined and check-point approach that supports developers, testers, team
leaders, and designers to outline the milestones of the development project. It is a
critical method that facilitates the delivery of the final software that meets the
expectations of users since it ensures that they are the focus of the development
process.
Software reliability engineering (SRE) is a collection of development methods that
employ various techniques for predicting the rate of failure prior to the release of
software using statistics (Srivastava & Awasthi, 2014).
It is among the methods that are accepted in the industry. It focuses on the
development of software that is free from failures in a specific environment at a
particular time. SRE is based on the function of the probability that is embedded in
time. The mechanical and electronic components of software may be worn out or get
old with time, although it will withstand these challenges in its life cycle.
The use of this method implies that the developed software will not change for a
specified time unless it is upgraded or changed intentionally. It is a significant
approach to the quality of the software since it focuses on its performance,
capability, maintainability, as well as the installation process.
This method is complex, which hinders the achievement of specified levels of quality
standards. The developers forward this complexity into the layer of the software.
The ISO 9000-3 model is accredited for used in the improvement of the development
process of software. The method focuses on the quality system that is used in
software development through the utilization of various techniques (Philips,
Zimmermann, & Bird, 2014).
Among them is configuration management that ensures each stage of development
utilizes correct versions of the available files. The change control technique manages
the balance between the technical potentials of software, requirements of additional
sources, and customer needs.
The method also has a feature of quality planning that helps in the determination of
the qualities of project goals even before the actual development begins. This
technique is critical in the determination of if the software has achieved the set goals.
Another development improvement process model that is accepted in the industry is
Software process assessment (SPA). It focuses on the evaluations of the strength
and weaknesses of the existing software development process in an organization
(Madaan, 2015).
It results in criteria such as maturity rating, which facilitates the establishment of the
areas that need improvement in the development process. The improvement is later
executed by the software engineering process group (SEPG).
Selected Methods for the Improvement Plan
CASE will be the most preferred method in guiding the process improvement plan for
Microsoft. The technique has a wide collection of labor-saving tools that are
employed in the development process (Madaan, 2015). Among them are
diagramming tools that support the representation of graphical and diagrammatic
data and system processes.
They present the flow of data, control flow, and different structures and components
of the software in the form of pictures. Examples include Flow Chart Maker. Analysis
tools include Accompa, accept 360, and Visible Analyst that are specifically designed
to identify incorrect and inconsistent specifications in the data and diagram flow.
These tools are critical in the collection of requirements by checking for irregularities
automatically (Munassar & Govardhan, 2010). CASE forms a framework for project
organization that facilitates the achievement of the set goals.
Besides, it will give Microsoft a competitive advantage by ensuring the developed
software is exceptional and have higher qualities than those of competitors.
The ISO 9000-3 model will be used in the improvement of the development process
for Microsoft Suit to ensure that the software meets the required international
standards.
The framework focuses on the importance of the quality of software and helps
organizations identify the root problems in the development process (Munassar &
Govardhan, 2010). This allows the spontaneous development of solutions even
before the process begins. The result is an improvement in efficiency and
minimization of costs of development.
Background Material
The background material for ISO 9000 includes documentation of important aspects
of the software independently, checking and reviewing its effectiveness (Srivastava
& Awasthi, 2014). The model has a perfect plan that should be prepared and
monitored by users. Another significant material is the configuration and
management system that is required in the software. It facilitates all documentation
that goes into the improvement process.
The background material for CASE includes documentation generators like
DrExplain and Doxygen that helps in the generation of technical documents for the
user according to the required standards (Madaan, 2015).
Code generators are other materials for this model, which generate codes and
definitions. This process uses diagrams, designs, and documents. The combination
of these materials will allow Microsoft developers to test and redesign the software
where necessary to optimize the efficiency and life cycle of Microsoft Suite.
Software Practices for Process Improvement
The software improvement process for Microsoft focuses on the existing as well as
new products. The organization needs process improvement to create efficient,
quality, and effective software. This practice requires improving the capability of
developing updated and unique software.
The company also needs to motivate developers to make their work appreciated and
recognized. Another improvement need for the company is capacity building through
training and mentorship (Someh & Wixom, 2017). The aim is to ensure that Microsoft
has improved its rate of employee retention. The following is a proposal for Microsoft
on the best software practices for process improvement.
Identification and Justification of the Solution
The first practice that fits in the context of Microsoft is the management of
requirements. This is a capability or a condition that a system has to meet. The
management of the system that has intensive software faces the challenge of
dynamics (Park et al., 2015). This creates a need for preparedness for change in the
life cycle of a software project.
The identification of the actual requirements of a system should be a continuous
process. The elements in the context of Microsoft imply components that have
significant impacts on the technical and budgetary goals of the project.
It can be impossible to state the requirements of a system exhaustively before the
project starts to expect for some trivial systems (Park et al., 2015). The presence of
an evolving or a new system influences the understanding of users on the system
requirements.
The best practice of requirements management is proposed for Microsoft. The
practice offers multiple solutions to the root causes of problems in software
development (Park et al., 2015). It is built on three pillars, which are organizing,
documenting, and eliciting the constraints and functionalities that are needed in the
system.
The obtained changes can be evaluated by focusing on their impacts. It forms the
foundation of quickly detecting inconsistencies. This allows the prioritization, tracing,
and filtering of requirements (Park et al., 2015). In this approach, communications
are based on conditions that are predetermined. Using suitable support tools, the
software development team can provide a repository for system requirements,
traces, and attributes that have automatic links to external material.
The practice of developing iterative is mostly implemented in the software
development cycle (SDLC) (Rahal, 2018). It entails full evaluation using different
testing and development frameworks, techniques, and tools. This practice
concentrates on the simple implementation that gains more features and
complexities as it develops towards the final system.
It is a form of dividing the process of software development into small constituents.
The iterative practice is a cyclical process, which differentiates from the classical
waterfall model that encompasses hard stages. After the completion of one phase,
more other steps are repeated, which eventually results in a cycle. The improvement
process of software is achieved progressively.
The practice of iterative development can be impactful to the software development
of Microsoft. The method generates working software early and quickly in the life
cycle of software (Booch, n.d). It is a critical framework for risk management since it
supports the identification and modification of threats in the iteration.
The required time for documentation is reduced dramatically, which allows the shift
of focus to the designing process. The practice offers a step-by-step approach to the
development and improvement of software (Rahal, 2018).
There are opportunities for reliable user feedback when users are presented with the
blueprints of the intended software since they are asked to imagine the functionality
of their new product. The results of employing iterative practice in Microsoft imply the
creation of high-level design before the commencement of development activities.
The practice allows the definition of design and evolving it depending on what has
been built. It also eases the process of debugging and testing during the iteration.
The best practice of verification and validation (V&V) (V model) is used in checking if
the software meets the expected criteria (Booch, n.d). It is a measure of the degree
to which the software meets the set goals and objectives. It is a form of quality
control and assurance, which is a requirement in the SDLC.
Verification is a standard of determining if a specific phase of software development
satisfies the predetermined conditions. It involves activities like reviews and
inspections. The goal of this process is to verify that the development is on track and
make necessary modifications if the process is not satisfactory.
Validation, on the other hand, evaluates the degree to which software meets the
specified requirements during or at the end of the development process (Booch, n.d).
It involves activities like testing the application of software using techniques like Gray
box, White box, and Black box. In comparison to verification, this process is costly
and involves fast execution of codes.
Microsoft should use the V&V practice to identify defects in software. The practice
offers an approach to the examination of subjective and objective goals of software
since it focuses on the assessment of the test results (Park et al., 2015).
The findings suggest areas with inconsistency in design, requirements, and
implementations since the software are tested for reliability, performance, and
functionality. Verification and validation practices embark on the identification of
areas with high risks, which can result in increasing the effectiveness and quality of
software of this company.
The practice allows developers to customize the product according to the needs of
users. The developed software has high rates of meeting their expectations.
Implementation and Communication Plan
Throughout the implementation of the software best practices, effective
communication will be required to share the ideas. The format of communication will
address the need for change and the proposed practices as well as their expected
impacts in Microsoft. The communication plan will bring together all the stakeholders
of the company, including some users of Microsoft Suite.
The chief executive of the company will receive the proposal and communicates the
recommendations, milestones, and expected benefits to the organization. The
communication will be bi-monthly using scheduled meetings with the directors of the
company. On this platform, the head of the department of software development will
also provide feedback on the financial and budgetary needs of the implementation
process.
The update will also include the progress of the implementation, available
opportunities, and barriers to the implementation process. The information will be
shared with the development team on scheduled meetings and during training
programs. The entire organization will communicate the proposed changes through
internal memos as well as the company's website.
The results of the implementation will be reviewed through progress reports that will
be submitted weekly to the general manager of the company from the different
departments.
The results will be the foundation for identifying the implementation process and
areas that may need improvement. A communication plan forms a significant part of
the achievement of the set objectives by streamlining the delivery of a message.
Metrics and Measurement Process Improvements
Microsoft is an institution of high profile in computer products and services. Its
metrics and measurement process improvement criteria are above the normal
standard of other businesses. The most vital stakeholders of these institutions are
three; products and services they offer, their employees, and their customers.
Improving the Quality of the Products and Services
Definition
A product or service is developed from raw materials. Microsoft being a technological
advancement company deals with software and hardware components for
computers. Therefore, their services and products are mostly offered online and
produced from people's minds. However, some of these products and services are
distributed to localized stores and can be bought from there.
The products include software, operating systems, drivers, and product keys for their
software. Services include upgrades and updates for software, websites for
customer services, responding to questions, and offering help where necessary
(Kasahara et al. 2017).
Collection
The information about products and services is collected they surveys using google
forms, which are sent to customers to fill out, recommendations by clients after
getting and using a product or service, through clients reaching out to the company
platforms and offering their suggestions or complaints. Surveys are oriented towards
a specific product or service that the company feels it must make changes (Voas &
Kuhn, 2017.
These may be due to customer complaints or negative recommendations towards
that specific product or service. For example, there was a time that diver pack
solutions had problems with operations alongside windows 7. When driver pack
solutions were installed in windows 7, the computer reduced its efficiency and
effectiveness in response time. It would take one minute to open a word document,
yet on normal occasions; it takes five to ten minutes.
A survey was conducted, and many reviews were collected on it. The product was
withdrawn from the market and went back to development and evaluation. Another
example is the Nokia windows phone (Megerle, 2019). It was first considered the
new era smart technology comprising of two giant companies in the tech industry.
However, months after the realism of the product into the market, the phones
become less efficient. They consumed power faster, easily corrupted, and not easily
connected to other operating systems, overheating among many other effects. The
companies after accessing the market through surveys and customer complaints,
suggestions, and recommendations. They withdraw the production of smart
technology.
The collection of product and services information has had its successes, too, as
much as it had failures. Through reviews by consumers of Microsoft products and
services, developers improve the products annually. A good example of improved
services over the years is Microsoft office and Microsoft suite.
Since the initiation of Microsoft office 2007, there has been the constant
improvement of Microsoft office version to 2018, which still isn't the latest version.
Rumors have it that office 2020 is under development. Microsoft has always been
interested in its customers since its initiation. Customer satisfaction has been their
most profound accelerator of success (Dmitriev & Wu, 2016).
"The consumer's need and concerned is our command," said one of the best
developers of Microsoft in a television show interview. He continued to say that they
are fascinated by negativity. When a client reviews negatively, they build on that
negative effect and build a better, more sophisticated product.
Who collects?
The responses to the quality of services and products are collected by the sales,
marketing, and researcher team. Sales and marketers gather information about the
products and services in circulation. When a client purchases a product from
Amazon or another online platform, the company requires the customer to leaves a
comment on their experience about shopping online.
They will afterward follow the client with an email to fill in a survey of the software
they bought and comment on the official website for the particular product. There is
also a record of sales kept by the Microsoft servers on the products and services
sold daily.
Marketers deal with reaching new unexploited markets and offering the products for
a trial to the consumer. If a consumer purchases the product, they will al them to
comment and fill through as a survey; however, if they don't buy, then a comment
will be enough if they are not willing to fill in the survey (Dmitriev & Wu, 2016.
Researchers are the evaluators who ensure they find the needs of their consumers,
through surveys and reviewing customer comments on their websites and
downloaded products. The researchers are interested in finding out what features of
the products need improvement or what experiences of a particular product are
limiting.
It is also possible that some products are not compatible with some operating
systems, but the uses would like a product that can fit into their operating systems.
The research is aimed at getting the consumers' needs and acting on them to
improve their experiences, giving them better services and products, which suit their
needs (Riley, Henderson & Windle, 2019).
Evaluation and Analysis
Evaluation is assorting the needs of the client according to their commonality without
considering which software they refer too. Evaluation is done for overall company
growth. The researcher tries to focus their research on the customers’ needs that
reflect the overall companies concerned.
They are reviews on the effect of the software on the different operating systems,
behavior of the software functions, customization, and recommendation
dysfunctions. These are general features for all software and are the selling
packages of most of Microsoft products (Smith & Bititci, 2017).
The reviews, comments, suggestions, and surveys are analyzed per software. Every
software is placed alongside its customers' needs, as expressed through the various
platforms. The most frequent customer demands are analyzed to produce a specific
direction towards which the developers can act upon. The most recommended
strategy is to analyze according to the complexity of needs, addressing them from
the most difficult to the least.
Inhibitors to collection and evaluation
The greatest inhibitors to collection and evaluation are;
· Fake comments, reviews, and suggestions from competitors
· Lack of enough reviews to work on
· Many consumers do not respond to surveys
· Most software and other products bought online are rarely commented on after use.
· Many customers consider advertisements or surveys sent to their emails as scams.
Overcoming the Inhibitors to collection and evaluation
To suppress these challenges associated with collection and evaluation, Microsoft
has to:
· The research has to devise ways in which they can identify the fake from the
genuine respondents. This is only possible by reviewing whether the responded is a
user of their services of just a clone
· When reviews are fewer than the recommended amount, the company has to wait
for the reviews to get to their optimum.
· Every survey responded to should attract a gift from the company’s service. These
encourage kore customers to respond to the surveys.
· Products bought online should require a person to fill through a survey of why they
want that particular product and where they got the information from. These will help
the company understand how their products are being recommended for use by
other consumers.
· Emailed advertisements and surveys from Microsoft should address a specific
product the client purchased, and it should be linked to the platform they bought it
from. Viruses also embed themselves through such emails. Therefore, the company
ought to develop a way of customizing its surveys and advertisement to be unique
(Smith & Bititci, 2017).
Increasing Customer Satisfaction
Definition
Customers are the target group of any business. Microsoft targets customers who
use their software and other products. By satisfying their customers, they should
ensure that they produce quality products and services that fit each target population
they have (Smith & Bititci, 2017).
A customer can attract more customers if they are satisfied with the products they
are offered. They will always recommend their friends and family with such software
that has influenced their experience in any field of their expertise or leisure.
Collection
Customer satisfaction data is collected similar to the quality of products and services.
A customer compliance form and survey comes with every subscription of services
to application software. The customer is obliged to respond to the survey and agree
to the terms and conditions of use for the software.
These data are used for the analysis of consumer satisfaction. The number of
searches in Google or visits to the website by new clients is also a way of identifying
customer satisfaction.
New clients are, on most occasions, recommendations by other Microsoft users. The
number of downloaded software and applications, plus other services offered by
Microsoft, is useful data collected to access customer satisfaction (Voas & Kuhn,
2017).
Who collects?
The data is collected by Microsoft servers, sales and marketers, and researchers.
They are mandated to monitor the systems and send surveys to clients to collect
customer information. The server automatically organizes the reviews and customer
comments according to products as addressed by the customer on different web
pages related to the company.
The researchers carry out routine surveys on different products of the company to
access customer satisfaction and address any improvements (Dmitriev & Wu, 2016).
Analysis and Evaluation
Evaluation is handled less the same as the product and services; however, in this
area, the interest is laid on customers' responses on the use of their products. The
reviews from downloads, surveys, and comments for each software give a clear
analysis of whether the customer is satisfied with the product on not.
The most profound analysis is the evaluation of downloads and searches on Google
for Microsoft products (Van Looy & Shafagatova, 2016).
Inhibitors to collection and evaluation
The inhibitors to the collection of consumer satisfaction are
1. There is no specific manner that can address satisfaction. A review may be
satisfactory but not very satisfactory.
2. No way to identify if the customer is genuine or not.
3. Some customers are just malicious.
4. The effectiveness of a product is on the frequency of use.
5. Carefree sentiments make the company go into chaos. The customers are not
concerned about what they say in their reviews or comments on a product.
Overcoming the Inhibitors to collection and evaluation
Overcoming challenges is simply through being vigilant about what you are looking
for in the reviews and the comments. The surveys should be customized to ensure
that the opinion of the customer is already coded rather than writing; they pick out a
phrase. The analysis of the text is harder and expensive than it is for coded
information.
In visits to websites, new clients download and google searches, all comments, and
other data may be missing, guiding on customer satisfaction (IBARRA & RATTAN,
2018). However, a clear mind will view all this information in light of the customer
without putting personal biases. Every customer has a message to pass, whether
right or wrong, take each seriously.
Creating Employee Satisfaction
Definition
Making a product or offering service requires staff/ employees to work on it; without a
team, the products can't be developed. The quality of products and services is
determined by the employees' skill set. Therefore, a good task force produces
bestselling products and services. When a product is ready for sale, the customer is
the next target.
A customer needs a product or service with high-quality precisions, safe, affordable,
trustworthy, and with ease, access to support in case of complication. This section
handles all this a strategy of improving |Microsoft’s vision of being the best software
and hardware provider for personal consumption; achievable through a skilled and
well-trained staff (Dmitriev & Wu, 2016).
Collection and who collects?
The human resource department advertises jobs for the best of the best
programmers and fishes the best students in the trade fair and programmer's camps.
The human resource department of Microsoft resources all its employees and is
concerned about their welfare. Microsoft has a legacy of creating its manpower
through mentorship and training.
The greatest asset of Microsoft is its developers because they are the people who
keep the company on the map of tech industries (Voas & Kuhn, 2017). Microsoft has
many innovation hubs all over the world and trains, schools, and sponsors, so many
students all over the world. The wide coverage enables Microsoft to get the best staff
and customize its products for all markets worldwide. Microsoft is an equal
opportunity employer.
Analysis and Evaluation
The human resource department at Microsoft evaluates and analysis its potential
employees through very strict and challenging exams. They are tested for their in-
depth understanding of basic business ethics, their personality, and human nature.
They are later evaluated on their expertise and experience under different subjects
of their fields of study. Recommendations are paramount to succeed through the
analysis and evaluation process. However, few smart students and daring graduates
have secured a position at Microsoft due to their extraordinary courage (Smith &
Bititci, 2017).
Inhibitors to collection and evaluation
Microsoft employee is collected and evaluated from a team of their own therefore the
biggest obstacles they face in getting other skilled personnel are;
1. Many potentially skilled people fear the big fish tech companies.
2. Their requirements are extremely high
3. The outsiders rarely get a chance into the organization.
Overcoming the Inhibitors to collection and evaluation
Microsoft needs to tap into the potential of innovations and ideas from people who
have had their struggles. They need to open their recruitment to outsiders. Getting
new blood into the company means the flow of new ideas and creativity.
They should lower the requirements which will attract more people then invest
money into the recruitment process by taking the recruiters through training through
which they are compensated and the best taken into the company (Dmitriev & Wu,
2016).
Software Quality Assurance Process Improvements (Week 4)
Definition
Software Quality Assurance Process Improvements entails the basics of
improvement of processes of software development and the quality of software
(Okumoto et al., 2018). Making improvements in the various processes of software
engineering plays a critical role in the improvement of the quality of software that
gets used by customers, and as such, the satisfaction of customers gets enhanced.
The improvements of the various processes are important in providing assurance of
quality software delivery to the clients that depend on the software company like
Microsoft Office. The major purpose of software assurance is to make sure that all
the procedures, processes, and products that get used to create and sustain the
software are in conformity with all the standards and requirements that have been
specified for the purpose of governing those procedures, products, and processes.
Further details on improvements that can be made By Microsoft Office on the
processes for the purpose of assuring the delivery of quality software gets discussed
below.
Areas in which process improvement will be appropriate
There are certain areas within the systems of organization that need improvements
in order to improve the performance of the organization, improve the satisfaction of
employees, and enhance the satisfaction of customers.
Communication: Communication is an area that will need improvement on the basis
that poor communication could significantly affect the ability of the organization to be
able to meet the needs of their customers (Kassie & Singh, 2020). This will happen
in the sense that with poor communication, for instance, when an important
communication gets missed, the delivery of a particular product to the market will be
late, which could risk the organization's reputation.
The customers may view the organization as unreliable, especially for first-time
customers, and make it lose the potential to expand its consumer base. Another
consequence of poor communication is the fact that missed communication can lead
to the spiraling of costs, which may become necessary to ensure that the product
sells despite the lateness in delivery, which contributes to losses for the organization.
Also, delay in communication can lead to last-minute crunches, which could affect
the quality of the particular product. Communication is, without a doubt, an area in
the organization that needs to get addressed.
Capacity: The building of capacity is another area that will need process
improvement in the sense that the employees will need further knowledge on the
processes of development to enhance their performance (Shams, 2016). It could be
an introduction of a new method or just training in the hope of improving job
satisfaction.
With the ever-changing world of technology, it is obvious that at some point, new
inventions in software development get made. For this reason, employees need to
be up to date with emerging technologies. Without the building of capacity to
understand the needs of employees and how to improve their lives, there is a higher
risk of losing the best employees to the competition in the market. This could place a
significant dent in the performance of the organization.
Software development: There is significant competition in the software development
industry, with new firms getting created more often than not. Microsoft office is a
brand that has existed for a long time and is also the most recognized. However,
new companies are getting created with people creating new techniques to get into
the market.
The curiosity that a new product in a market creates can make it challenging for
Microsoft office to retain its customers. The organization will need to keep making
improvements to its software every now and then to enhance their customer
retention capabilities.
Process improvements to address the deficiencies
Capacity building is one process improvement that can be put in place to improve
the ability of the organization to retain its employees. Employees need to constantly
feel that their needs are being taken care of, and there is an improvement in their
lives brought about by working in the organization.
Employers can take part in improving the employees in both knowledge and financial
improvement by conducting capacity building activities like mentorship and training
programs occasionally (Shams, 2016). For instance, on an annual basis, to ensure
that there is an improvement in the intellectual abilities and skills of the employee so
that they would enjoy working in the organization, and as such, the organization
enhances its employee retention capabilities.
Software improvement can help a great deal in enhancing satisfaction. Since
Microsoft Office is an organization that has existed for a long tie and with a long
history of developments, they have to find ways to retain their customers and
manage the threat of competition from other emerging providers (Srivastava &
Awasthi, 2014).
For this reason, it is necessary that enhancements keep being made in software to
meet the needs of the ever-changing market demand. It is critical that they stay up to
date with the current trends in society to ensure that their software improvements
and changes get made in accordance with the expectations in the market.
Always considering the needs of the customers when developing new products in
the organization can help enhance the trust the customers have in the organization,
and as such, it will be able to maintain its customer population.
Improved communication: The deficiency regarding communication can be
addressed by creating a clear plan of communication that will make it possible for the
customers to have access to the services of the organization at all times.
Also, the plan will include providing early notice to customers in case of a possible
delay in the delivery of a particular product to avoid inconveniences to the
customers. Alerts should be made early to avoid surprises. The organization can
have a communication team to ensure that all communications get made within a
reasonable time to enhance their processes of delivery of service to its customers
Implementation and communication of improvements
A proper communication and implementation plan are necessary for the success of
the improvements that the organization needs to make. For successful
implementation of the improvements, which are necessary for the betterment of the
organization, proper communication needs to be established to promote the efficient
sharing of ideas (Naim & Lenkla, 2016).
The first major step in communication will be to call a meeting of all the shareholders
of the organization as well as the developers of the applications and the employees,
and then we will inform them of what the change entails and what the change means
for the organization in terms of its benefits and improvements.
This communication is necessary as the members of the organization will be able to
prepare themselves efficiently when the time for implementation happens.
Communication is necessary to avoid disorienting people with surprises that are
unexpected.
It is necessary that the members of the organization know about the intended
improvements as they will include a description of their specific roles in the process
of implementation. Regular updates to the members of the organization will also be
communicated with regard to the progress of the implementation.
In implementing the plan regarding the improvement on the software, a team of
individuals from among the employees of the organization comprised of marketers
and salespersons and researchers will be responsible for conducting market
research and surveys to establish the current market situation concerning the
expectations of the customers, the opinions of the market regarding the company's
products and the expectations and hopes about the organization.
The results from the surveys will make it possible for the organization to understand
what the market expects and the needs of its customers (Riley et al., 2019). These
findings will be considered in the process of implementing the various improvements
to ensure that the process improvements get implemented in ways that will be
appealing to a majority of the market population, including those that have never
used the products if the organization.
The manner in which the changes get implemented by the organization is critical as
it serves the purpose of influencing the market reception and the performance of the
organization. The processes should get implemented in a way that maximizes the
performance outcomes of the organization, retains employees, and enhances the
satisfaction of customers.
The process of capacity building will be implemented by the establishment of annual
training programs for employees (Shams, 2016). These programs will be paid for by
the organization to help improve the skill and knowledge of the employees with
regard to their career development.
On completion of such training, the organization will encourage the use of the
knowledge by providing opportunities for growth through job promotions and reviews
if salaries to match the level of skill one has obtained. This will enhance the
performance of the organization as the skill level of the trained employees will have
grown, encouraging innovation.
Also, I will advise the organization to hold annual mentorship and team building
activities whereby the employees get to interact with each other, build strong and
lasting working relations that will help improve the performance of the organization.
The training programs, mentorship, and team building activities will help a great deal
in the retention of employees as they will be satisfied by how the organization
functions, with the feeling that the organization cares about their well-being.
Potential benefits of the improvements
The improvements made to the organization will have substantial benefits to the
organization, to the employees, and also to the customers. First, the services and
products that the organization provides for its customers will be improved. This
means that the company will be able to make more profits due to the quality of its
services that the customers will be interested in.
Employee satisfaction in terms of quality will be achieved as they will benefit from the
product quality. The employees will potentially benefit from the improvements in
terms of job satisfaction. The company will gain more recognition, which will enhance
its growth to pother levels of service provision.
Risk Management Process Improvements (Week 5)
References
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25th ACM International on Conference on Information and Knowledge
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Business School Review, 29(3), 50-53.
Kasahara, Y., Shimayoshi, T., Obana, M., & Fujimura, N. (2017, October). Our
Experience with Introducing Microsoft Office 365 at Kyushu University.
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enhance software quality assurance. International Journal of Productivity and Quality
Management, 29(1), 24-44.
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rmann, & Bird, 2014).
Among them is configuration management that ensures each stage of development
utilizes correct versions of the available files. The change control technique manages
the balance between the technical potentials of software, requirements of additional
sources, and customer needs.
The method also has a feature of quality planning that helps in the determination of
the qualities of project goals even before the actual development begins. This
technique is critical in the determination of if the software has achieved the set goals.
Another development improvement process model that is accepted in the industry is
Software process assessment (SPA). It focuses on the evaluations of the strength
and weaknesses of the existing software development process in an organization
(Madaan, 2015).
It results in criteria such as maturity rating, which facilitates the establishment of the
areas that need improvement in the development process. The improvement is later
executed by the software engineering process group (SEPG).
Selected Methods for the Improvement Plan
CASE will be the most preferred method in guiding the process improvement plan for
Microsoft. The technique has a wide collection of labor-saving tools that are
employed in the development process (Madaan, 2015). Among them are
diagramming tools that support the representation of graphical and diagrammatic
data and system processes.
They present the flow of data, control flow, and different structures and components
of the software in the form of pictures. Examples include Flow Chart Maker. Analysis
tools include Accompa, accept 360, and Visible Analyst that are specifically designed
to identify incorrect and inconsistent specifications in the data and diagram flow.
These tools are critical in the collection of requirements by checking for irregularities
automatically (Munassar & Govardhan, 2010). CASE forms a framework for project
organization that facilitates the achievement of the set goals.
Besides, it will give Microsoft a competitive advantage by ensuring the developed
software is exceptional and have higher qualities than those of competitors.
The ISO 9000-3 model will be used in the improvement of the development process
for Microsoft Suit to ensure that the software meets the required international
standards.
The framework focuses on the importance of the quality of software and helps
organizations identify the root problems in the development process (Munassar &
Govardhan, 2010). This allows the spontaneous development of solutions even
before the process begins. The result is an improvement in efficiency and
minimization of costs of development.
Background Material
The background material for ISO 9000 includes documentation of important aspects
of the software independently, checking and reviewing its effectiveness (Srivastava
& Awasthi, 2014). The model has a perfect plan that should be prepared and
monitored by users. Another significant material is the configuration and
management system that is required in the software. It facilitates all documentation
that goes into the improvement process.
The background material for CASE includes documentation generators like
DrExplain and Doxygen that helps in the generation of technical documents for the
user according to the required standards (Madaan, 2015).
Code generators are other materials for this model, which generate codes and
definitions. This process uses diagrams, designs, and documents. The combination
of these materials will allow Microsoft developers to test and redesign the software
where necessary to optimize the efficiency and life cycle of Microsoft Suite.
Software Practices for Process Improvement
The software improvement process for Microsoft focuses on the existing as well as
new products. The organization needs process improvement to create efficient,
quality, and effective software. This practice requires improving the capability of
developing updated and unique software.
The company also needs to motivate developers to make their work appreciated and
recognized. Another improvement need for the company is capacity building through
training and mentorship (Someh & Wixom, 2017). The aim is to ensure that Microsoft
has improved its rate of employee retention. The following is a proposal for Microsoft
on the best software practices for process improvement.
Identification and Justification of the Solution
The first practice that fits in the context of Microsoft is the management of
requirements. This is a capability or a condition that a system has to meet. The
management of the system that has intensive software faces the challenge of
dynamics (Park et al., 2015). This creates a need for preparedness for change in the
life cycle of a software project.
The identification of the actual requirements of a system should be a continuous
process. The elements in the context of Microsoft imply components that have
significant impacts on the technical and budgetary goals of the project.
It can be impossible to state the requirements of a system exhaustively before the
project starts to expect for some trivial systems (Park et al., 2015). The presence of
an evolving or a new system influences the understanding of users on the system
requirements.
The best practice of requirements management is proposed for Microsoft. The
practice offers multiple solutions to the root causes of problems in software
development (Park et al., 2015). It is built on three pillars, which are organizing,
documenting, and eliciting the constraints and functionalities that are needed in the
system.
The obtained changes can be evaluated by focusing on their impacts. It forms the
foundation of quickly detecting inconsistencies. This allows the prioritization, tracing,
and filtering of requirements (Park et al., 2015). In this approach, communications
are based on conditions that are predetermined. Using suitable support tools, the
software development team can provide a repository for system requirements,
traces, and attributes that have automatic links to external material.
The practice of developing iterative is mostly implemented in the software
development cycle (SDLC) (Rahal, 2018). It entails full evaluation using different
testing and development frameworks, techniques, and tools. This practice
concentrates on the simple implementation that gains more features and
complexities as it develops towards the final system.
It is a form of dividing the process of software development into small constituents.
The iterative practice is a cyclical process, which differentiates from the classical
waterfall model that encompasses hard stages. After the completion of one phase,
more other steps are repeated, which eventually results in a cycle. The improvement
process of software is achieved progressively.
The practice of iterative development can be impactful to the software development
of Microsoft. The method generates working software early and quickly in the life
cycle of software (Booch, n.d). It is a critical framework for risk management since it
supports the identification and modification of threats in the iteration.
The required time for documentation is reduced dramatically, which allows the shift
of focus to the designing process. The practice offers a step-by-step approach to the
development and improvement of software (Rahal, 2018).
There are opportunities for reliable user feedback when users are presented with the
blueprints of the intended software since they are asked to imagine the functionality
of their new product. The results of employing iterative practice in Microsoft imply the
creation of high-level design before the commencement of development activities.
The practice allows the definition of design and evolving it depending on what has
been built. It also eases the process of debugging and testing during the iteration.
The best practice of verification and validation (V&V) (V model) is used in checking if
the software meets the expected criteria (Booch, n.d). It is a measure of the degree
to which the software meets the set goals and objectives. It is a form of quality
control and assurance, which is a requirement in the SDLC.
Verification is a standard of determining if a specific phase of software development
satisfies the predetermined conditions. It involves activities like reviews and
inspections. The goal of this process is to verify that the development is on track and
make necessary modifications if the process is not satisfactory.
Validation, on the other hand, evaluates the degree to which software meets the
specified requirements during or at the end of the development process (Booch, n.d).
It involves activities like testing the application of software using techniques like Gray
box, White box, and Black box. In comparison to verification, this process is costly
and involves fast execution of codes.
Microsoft should use the V&V practice to identify defects in software. The practice
offers an approach to the examination of subjective and objective goals of software
since it focuses on the assessment of the test results (Park et al., 2015).
The findings suggest areas with inconsistency in design, requirements, and
implementations since the software are tested for reliability, performance, and
functionality. Verification and validation practices embark on the identification of
areas with high risks, which can result in increasing the effectiveness and quality of
software of this company.
The practice allows developers to customize the product according to the needs of
users. The developed software has high rates of meeting their expectations.
Implementation and Communication Plan
Throughout the implementation of the software best practices, effective
communication will be required to share the ideas. The format of communication will
address the need for change and the proposed practices as well as their expected
impacts in Microsoft. The communication plan will bring together all the stakeholders
of the company, including some users of Microsoft Suite.
The chief executive of the company will receive the proposal and communicates the
recommendations, milestones, and expected benefits to the organization. The
communication will be bi-monthly using scheduled meetings with the directors of the
company. On this platform, the head of the department of software development will
also provide feedback on the financial and budgetary needs of the implementation
process.
The update will also include the progress of the implementation, available
opportunities, and barriers to the implementation process. The information will be
shared with the development team on scheduled meetings and during training
programs. The entire organization will communicate the proposed changes through
internal memos as well as the company's website.
The results of the implementation will be reviewed through progress reports that will
be submitted weekly to the general manager of the company from the different
departments.
The results will be the foundation for identifying the implementation process and
areas that may need improvement. A communication plan forms a significant part of
the achievement of the set objectives by streamlining the delivery of a message.
Metrics and Measurement Process Improvements
Microsoft is an institution of high profile in computer products and services. Its
metrics and measurement process improvement criteria are above the normal
standard of other businesses. The most vital stakeholders of these institutions are
three; products and services they offer, their employees, and their customers.
Improving the Quality of the Products and Services
Definition
A product or service is developed from raw materials. Microsoft being a technological
advancement company deals with software and hardware components for
computers. Therefore, their services and products are mostly offered online and
produced from people's minds. However, some of these products and services are
distributed to localized stores and can be bought from there.
The products include software, operating systems, drivers, and product keys for their
software. Services include upgrades and updates for software, websites for
customer services, responding to questions, and offering help where necessary
(Kasahara et al. 2017).
Collection
The information about products and services is collected they surveys using google
forms, which are sent to customers to fill out, recommendations by clients after
getting and using a product or service, through clients reaching out to the company
platforms and offering their suggestions or complaints. Surveys are oriented towards
a specific product or service that the company feels it must make changes (Voas &
Kuhn, 2017.
These may be due to customer complaints or negative recommendations towards
that specific product or service. For example, there was a time that diver pack
solutions had problems with operations alongside windows 7. When driver pack
solutions were installed in windows 7, the computer reduced its efficiency and
effectiveness in response time. It would take one minute to open a word document,
yet on normal occasions; it takes five to ten minutes.
A survey was conducted, and many reviews were collected on it. The product was
withdrawn from the market and went back to development and evaluation. Another
example is the Nokia windows phone (Megerle, 2019). It was first considered the
new era smart technology comprising of two giant companies in the tech industry.
However, months after the realism of the product into the market, the phones
become less efficient. They consumed power faster, easily corrupted, and not easily
connected to other operating systems, overheating among many other effects. The
companies after accessing the market through surveys and customer complaints,
suggestions, and recommendations. They withdraw the production of smart
technology.
The collection of product and services information has had its successes, too, as
much as it had failures. Through reviews by consumers of Microsoft products and
services, developers improve the products annually. A good example of improved
services over the years is Microsoft office and Microsoft suite.
Since the initiation of Microsoft office 2007, there has been the constant
improvement of Microsoft office version to 2018, which still isn't the latest version.
Rumors have it that office 2020 is under development. Microsoft has always been
interested in its customers since its initiation. Customer satisfaction has been their
most profound accelerator of success (Dmitriev & Wu, 2016).
"The consumer's need and concerned is our command," said one of the best
developers of Microsoft in a television show interview. He continued to say that they
are fascinated by negativity. When a client reviews negatively, they build on that
negative effect and build a better, more sophisticated product.
Who collects?
The responses to the quality of services and products are collected by the sales,
marketing, and researcher team. Sales and marketers gather information about the
products and services in circulation. When a client purchases a product from
Amazon or another online platform, the company requires the customer to leaves a
comment on their experience about shopping online.
They will afterward follow the client with an email to fill in a survey of the software
they bought and comment on the official website for the particular product. There is
also a record of sales kept by the Microsoft servers on the products and services
sold daily.
Marketers deal with reaching new unexploited markets and offering the products for
a trial to the consumer. If a consumer purchases the product, they will al them to
comment and fill through as a survey; however, if they don't buy, then a comment
will be enough if they are not willing to fill in the survey (Dmitriev & Wu, 2016.
Researchers are the evaluators who ensure they find the needs of their consumers,
through surveys and reviewing customer comments on their websites and
downloaded products. The researchers are interested in finding out what features of
the products need improvement or what experiences of a particular product are
limiting.
It is also possible that some products are not compatible with some operating
systems, but the uses would like a product that can fit into their operating systems.
The research is aimed at getting the consumers' needs and acting on them to
improve their experiences, giving them better services and products, which suit their
needs (Riley, Henderson & Windle, 2019).
Evaluation and Analysis
Evaluation is assorting the needs of the client according to their commonality without
considering which software they refer too. Evaluation is done for overall company
growth. The researcher tries to focus their research on the customers’ needs that
reflect the overall companies concerned.
They are reviews on the effect of the software on the different operating systems,
behavior of the software functions, customization, and recommendation
dysfunctions. These are general features for all software and are the selling
packages of most of Microsoft products (Smith & Bititci, 2017).
The reviews, comments, suggestions, and surveys are analyzed per software. Every
software is placed alongside its customers' needs, as expressed through the various
platforms. The most frequent customer demands are analyzed to produce a specific
direction towards which the developers can act upon. The most recommended
strategy is to analyze according to the complexity of needs, addressing them from
the most difficult to the least.
Inhibitors to collection and evaluation
The greatest inhibitors to collection and evaluation are;
· Fake comments, reviews, and suggestions from competitors
· Lack of enough reviews to work on
· Many consumers do not respond to surveys
· Most software and other products bought online are rarely commented on after use.
· Many customers consider advertisements or surveys sent to their emails as scams.
Overcoming the Inhibitors to collection and evaluation
To suppress these challenges associated with collection and evaluation, Microsoft
has to:
· The research has to devise ways in which they can identify the fake from the
genuine respondents. This is only possible by reviewing whether the responded is a
user of their services of just a clone
· When reviews are fewer than the recommended amount, the company has to wait
for the reviews to get to their optimum.
· Every survey responded to should attract a gift from the company’s service. These
encourage kore customers to respond to the surveys.
· Products bought online should require a person to fill through a survey of why they
want that particular product and where they got the information from. These will help
the company understand how their products are being recommended for use by
other consumers.
· Emailed advertisements and surveys from Microsoft should address a specific
product the client purchased, and it should be linked to the platform they bought it
from. Viruses also embed themselves through such emails. Therefore, the company
ought to develop a way of customizing its surveys and advertisement to be unique
(Smith & Bititci, 2017).
Increasing Customer Satisfaction
Definition
Customers are the target group of any business. Microsoft targets customers who
use their software and other products. By satisfying their customers, they should
ensure that they produce quality products and services that fit each target population
they have (Smith & Bititci, 2017).
A customer can attract more customers if they are satisfied with the products they
are offered. They will always recommend their friends and family with such software
that has influenced their experience in any field of their expertise or leisure.
Collection
Customer satisfaction data is collected similar to the quality of products and services.
A customer compliance form and survey comes with every subscription of services
to application software. The customer is obliged to respond to the survey and agree
to the terms and conditions of use for the software.
These data are used for the analysis of consumer satisfaction. The number of
searches in Google or visits to the website by new clients is also a way of identifying
customer satisfaction.
New clients are, on most occasions, recommendations by other Microsoft users. The
number of downloaded software and applications, plus other services offered by
Microsoft, is useful data collected to access customer satisfaction (Voas & Kuhn,
2017).
Who collects?
The data is collected by Microsoft servers, sales and marketers, and researchers.
They are mandated to monitor the systems and send surveys to clients to collect
customer information. The server automatically organizes the reviews and customer
comments according to products as addressed by the customer on different web
pages related to the company.
The researchers carry out routine surveys on different products of the company to
access customer satisfaction and address any improvements (Dmitriev & Wu, 2016).
Analysis and Evaluation
Evaluation is handled less the same as the product and services; however, in this
area, the interest is laid on customers' responses on the use of their products. The
reviews from downloads, surveys, and comments for each software give a clear
analysis of whether the customer is satisfied with the product on not.
The most profound analysis is the evaluation of downloads and searches on Google
for Microsoft products (Van Looy & Shafagatova, 2016).
Inhibitors to collection and evaluation
The inhibitors to the collection of consumer satisfaction are
1. There is no specific manner that can address satisfaction. A review may be
satisfactory but not very satisfactory.
2. No way to identify if the customer is genuine or not.
3. Some customers are just malicious.
4. The effectiveness of a product is on the frequency of use.
5. Carefree sentiments make the company go into chaos. The customers are not
concerned about what they say in their reviews or comments on a product.
Overcoming the Inhibitors to collection and evaluation
Overcoming challenges is simply through being vigilant about what you are looking
for in the reviews and the comments. The surveys should be customized to ensure
that the opinion of the customer is already coded rather than writing; they pick out a
phrase. The analysis of the text is harder and expensive than it is for coded
information.
In visits to websites, new clients download and google searches, all comments, and
other data may be missing, guiding on customer satisfaction (IBARRA & RATTAN,
2018). However, a clear mind will view all this information in light of the customer
without putting personal biases. Every customer has a message to pass, whether
right or wrong, take each seriously.
Creating Employee Satisfaction
Definition
Making a product or offering service requires staff/ employees to work on it; without a
team, the products can't be developed. The quality of products and services is
determined by the employees' skill set. Therefore, a good task force produces
bestselling products and services. When a product is ready for sale, the customer is
the next target.
A customer needs a product or service with high-quality precisions, safe, affordable,
trustworthy, and with ease, access to support in case of complication. This section
handles all this a strategy of improving |Microsoft’s vision of being the best software
and hardware provider for personal consumption; achievable through a skilled and
well-trained staff (Dmitriev & Wu, 2016).
Collection and who collects?
The human resource department advertises jobs for the best of the best
programmers and fishes the best students in the trade fair and programmer's camps.
The human resource department of Microsoft resources all its employees and is
concerned about their welfare. Microsoft has a legacy of creating its manpower
through mentorship and training.
The greatest asset of Microsoft is its developers because they are the people who
keep the company on the map of tech industries (Voas & Kuhn, 2017). Microsoft has
many innovation hubs all over the world and trains, schools, and sponsors, so many
students all over the world. The wide coverage enables Microsoft to get the best staff
and customize its products for all markets worldwide. Microsoft is an equal
opportunity employer.
Analysis and Evaluation
The human resource department at Microsoft evaluates and analysis its potential
employees through very strict and challenging exams. They are tested for their in-
depth understanding of basic business ethics, their personality, and human nature.
They are later evaluated on their expertise and experience under different subjects
of their fields of study. Recommendations are paramount to succeed through the
analysis and evaluation process. However, few smart students and daring graduates
have secured a position at Microsoft due to their extraordinary courage (Smith &
Bititci, 2017).
Inhibitors to collection and evaluation
Microsoft employee is collected and evaluated from a team of their own therefore the
biggest obstacles they face in getting other skilled personnel are;
1. Many potentially skilled people fear the big fish tech companies.
2. Their requirements are extremely high
3. The outsiders rarely get a chance into the organization.
Overcoming the Inhibitors to collection and evaluation
Microsoft needs to tap into the potential of innovations and ideas from people who
have had their struggles. They need to open their recruitment to outsiders. Getting
new blood into the company means the flow of new ideas and creativity.
They should lower the requirements which will attract more people then invest
money into the recruitment process by taking the recruiters through training through
which they are compensated and the best taken into the company (Dmitriev & Wu,
2016).
Software Quality Assurance Process Improvements (Week 4)
Definition
Software Quality Assurance Process Improvements entails the basics of
improvement of processes of software development and the quality of software
(Okumoto et al., 2018). Making improvements in the various processes of software
engineering plays a critical role in the improvement of the quality of software that
gets used by customers, and as such, the satisfaction of customers gets enhanced.
The improvements of the various processes are important in providing assurance of
quality software delivery to the clients that depend on the software company like
Microsoft Office. The major purpose of software assurance is to make sure that all
the procedures, processes, and products that get used to create and sustain the
software are in conformity with all the standards and requirements that have been
specified for the purpose of governing those procedures, products, and processes.
Further details on improvements that can be made By Microsoft Office on the
processes for the purpose of assuring the delivery of quality software gets discussed
below.
Areas in which process improvement will be appropriate
There are certain areas within the systems of organization that need improvements
in order to improve the performance of the organization, improve the satisfaction of
employees, and enhance the satisfaction of customers.
Communication: Communication is an area that will need improvement on the basis
that poor communication could significantly affect the ability of the organization to be
able to meet the needs of their customers (Kassie & Singh, 2020). This will happen
in the sense that with poor communication, for instance, when an important
communication gets missed, the delivery of a particular product to the market will be
late, which could risk the organization's reputation.
The customers may view the organization as unreliable, especially for first-time
customers, and make it lose the potential to expand its consumer base. Another
consequence of poor communication is the fact that missed communication can lead
to the spiraling of costs, which may become necessary to ensure that the product
sells despite the lateness in delivery, which contributes to losses for the organization.
Also, delay in communication can lead to last-minute crunches, which could affect
the quality of the particular product. Communication is, without a doubt, an area in
the organization that needs to get addressed.
Capacity: The building of capacity is another area that will need process
improvement in the sense that the employees will need further knowledge on the
processes of development to enhance their performance (Shams, 2016). It could be
an introduction of a new method or just training in the hope of improving job
satisfaction.
With the ever-changing world of technology, it is obvious that at some point, new
inventions in software development get made. For this reason, employees need to
be up to date with emerging technologies. Without the building of capacity to
understand the needs of employees and how to improve their lives, there is a higher
risk of losing the best employees to the competition in the market. This could place a
significant dent in the performance of the organization.
Software development: There is significant competition in the software development
industry, with new firms getting created more often than not. Microsoft office is a
brand that has existed for a long time and is also the most recognized. However,
new companies are getting created with people creating new techniques to get into
the market.
The curiosity that a new product in a market creates can make it challenging for
Microsoft office to retain its customers. The organization will need to keep making
improvements to its software every now and then to enhance their customer
retention capabilities.
Process improvements to address the deficiencies
Capacity building is one process improvement that can be put in place to improve
the ability of the organization to retain its employees. Employees need to constantly
feel that their needs are being taken care of, and there is an improvement in their
lives brought about by working in the organization.
Employers can take part in improving the employees in both knowledge and financial
improvement by conducting capacity building activities like mentorship and training
programs occasionally (Shams, 2016). For instance, on an annual basis, to ensure
that there is an improvement in the intellectual abilities and skills of the employee so
that they would enjoy working in the organization, and as such, the organization
enhances its employee retention capabilities.
Software improvement can help a great deal in enhancing satisfaction. Since
Microsoft Office is an organization that has existed for a long tie and with a long
history of developments, they have to find ways to retain their customers and
manage the threat of competition from other emerging providers (Srivastava &
Awasthi, 2014).
For this reason, it is necessary that enhancements keep being made in software to
meet the needs of the ever-changing market demand. It is critical that they stay up to
date with the current trends in society to ensure that their software improvements
and changes get made in accordance with the expectations in the market.
Always considering the needs of the customers when developing new products in
the organization can help enhance the trust the customers have in the organization,
and as such, it will be able to maintain its customer population.
Improved communication: The deficiency regarding communication can be
addressed by creating a clear plan of communication that will make it possible for the
customers to have access to the services of the organization at all times.
Also, the plan will include providing early notice to customers in case of a possible
delay in the delivery of a particular product to avoid inconveniences to the
customers. Alerts should be made early to avoid surprises. The organization can
have a communication team to ensure that all communications get made within a
reasonable time to enhance their processes of delivery of service to its customers
Implementation and communication of improvements
A proper communication and implementation plan are necessary for the success of
the improvements that the organization needs to make. For successful
implementation of the improvements, which are necessary for the betterment of the
organization, proper communication needs to be established to promote the efficient
sharing of ideas (Naim & Lenkla, 2016).
The first major step in communication will be to call a meeting of all the shareholders
of the organization as well as the developers of the applications and the employees,
and then we will inform them of what the change entails and what the change means
for the organization in terms of its benefits and improvements.
This communication is necessary as the members of the organization will be able to
prepare themselves efficiently when the time for implementation happens.
Communication is necessary to avoid disorienting people with surprises that are
unexpected.
It is necessary that the members of the organization know about the intended
improvements as they will include a description of their specific roles in the process
of implementation. Regular updates to the members of the organization will also be
communicated with regard to the progress of the implementation.
In implementing the plan regarding the improvement on the software, a team of
individuals from among the employees of the organization comprised of marketers
and salespersons and researchers will be responsible for conducting market
research and surveys to establish the current market situation concerning the
expectations of the customers, the opinions of the market regarding the company's
products and the expectations and hopes about the organization.
The results from the surveys will make it possible for the organization to understand
what the market expects and the needs of its customers (Riley et al., 2019). These
findings will be considered in the process of implementing the various improvements
to ensure that the process improvements get implemented in ways that will be
appealing to a majority of the market population, including those that have never
used the products if the organization.
The manner in which the changes get implemented by the organization is critical as
it serves the purpose of influencing the market reception and the performance of the
organization. The processes should get implemented in a way that maximizes the
performance outcomes of the organization, retains employees, and enhances the
satisfaction of customers.
The process of capacity building will be implemented by the establishment of annual
training programs for employees (Shams, 2016). These programs will be paid for by
the organization to help improve the skill and knowledge of the employees with
regard to their career development.
On completion of such training, the organization will encourage the use of the
knowledge by providing opportunities for growth through job promotions and reviews
if salaries to match the level of skill one has obtained. This will enhance the
performance of the organization as the skill level of the trained employees will have
grown, encouraging innovation.
Also, I will advise the organization to hold annual mentorship and team building
activities whereby the employees get to interact with each other, build strong and
lasting working relations that will help improve the performance of the organization.
The training programs, mentorship, and team building activities will help a great deal
in the retention of employees as they will be satisfied by how the organization
functions, with the feeling that the organization cares about their well-being.
Potential benefits of the improvements
The improvements made to the organization will have substantial benefits to the
organization, to the employees, and also to the customers. First, the services and
products that the organization provides for its customers will be improved. This
means that the company will be able to make more profits due to the quality of its
services that the customers will be interested in.
Employee satisfaction in terms of quality will be achieved as they will benefit from the
product quality. The employees will potentially benefit from the improvements in
terms of job satisfaction. The company will gain more recognition, which will enhance
its growth to pother levels of service provision.
Risk Management Process Improvements (Week 5)
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