A decade of best practices of software engineering in small companies: a quasi-systematic mapping

Abstract

The following of best practices of Software Engineering (SE) is something that provides many advantages for software companies. In this scenario SWEBOK is a guideline that supports these companies with information about the core of knowledge of SE, including a list of Best Practices (BP) to adopt. For small companies, however, some restrictions such as limited budget, short schedule, reduced number of employees, can hinder the advantages of the adoption of these practices. In this scenario, it is necessary to have useful information about which BPs have been adopted in small companies. Therefore, this paper describes the planning and execution of a quasi-systematic mapping study in order to report the adopting scenario of SWEBOK BPs in small companies during the last decade. It was possible to observe that the most prominent BP adopted is “Test application”, followed by the using of “Software Process Model” where the tests’ execution is already contemplated by. On the other hand, “Budget Limitation” and “Staff Size” were cited as motivations for avoid the adoption of BPs in small companies.