Corrective Action for the Software Industry [Paperback]

Denise E. Robitaille (Author), Johanna Rothman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2004 | ISBN-10: 0971323194 | ISBN-13: 978-0971323193

Many people are confused about corrective action. They know it’s a requirement for compliance to standards such as ISO 9001. In some cases, the mandate is imposed by customers or regulatory agencies. Compounding this misunderstanding is that much of what has been written about the corrective action process is targeted toward manufacturing organizations, with the predictable references to tooling, production equipment, inspection of materials, storage issues, component design and the like. For software organizations, the product is intangible, and the processes may be electronically defined, derived, and controlled. Corrective action and the manner in which it is implemented needs to be explained specifically for software, both in language and supporting documentation.

This practical handbook discusses the hows and whys of corrective action, with a particular focus on its application in software environments. It also illustrates how the process is integrated into the various other functions of the organization.

Plus, Corrective Action for the Software Industry includes a CD-ROM with PDF forms you can use in your corrective action process.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Denise E. Robitaille has helped companies in diverse fields such as electronic assembly, cutting-edge biotechnology, machine shops and packaging manufacturers to achieve ISO 9000 registration. Her work also encompasses training and auditing. She is a RAB-certified lead assessor, and ASQ Certified Quality Auditor and senior member of the American Society for Quality. Robitaille is also a member of the U.S. TAG to ISO/TC 176, the committee responsible for updating the ISO 9000 standard series. She is the author of numerous articles as well as The Corrective Action Handbook, The Preventive Action Handbook, and The Management Review Handbook, all published by Paton Press.

Johanna Rothman helps managers, teams, and organizations become more effective with her pragmatic approaches to the issues of project management, risk management, and people management. Rothman is a frequent speaker and author on managing high-technology product development and has written more than 100 articles and papers. She is a columnist for Software Development, Computerworld.com, and StickyMinds.com. She also publishes Reflections, an acclaimed quarterly newsletter about managing product development.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Paton Press LLC (March 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971323194
• ISBN-13: 978-0971323193
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,850,956 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Take action to correct the causes of software problems, December 16, 2004

By 

Robin F. Goldsmith (Needham, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Corrective Action for the Software Industry (Paperback)

Corrective Action for the Software Industry is the latest in Denise Robitaille's series of short, simple, and straightforward how-to-manage-quality books. This is the first of the books that focuses on applying quality practices to a specific industry; and accordingly Denise is joined by her first co-author, Johanna Rothman, who is prominent in the software industry.

About two-thirds of software effort is spent on maintenance, mainly correcting products after they've been implemented. Ironically, although the software industry frequently indulges in [equally frequently disappointing] costly new large-scale initiatives and tools aimed at home-run performance improvements, the industry seldom devotes much effort to correcting the actual causes of the specific product problem symptoms it keeps fixing.

The great strength of this book is that it alerts software folks to the need to go beyond mere remediation fixes of the immediate problem and also take corrective actions to prevent the same type of problem from occurring again. Both the product itself and the processes producing it are candidates for corrective action.

The book describes seven corrective action steps, including not only verifying the implementation but also verifying the action's effectiveness (which too often is neglected). I fear many in software may resist the book's emphasis on formal procedures and documentation, although the approach is proven and widely accepted in other industries.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finally, a no nonsense book on how to go beyond remedial action, July 6, 2009

By 

Patricia "Software Test Lead" (Mesquite, TX, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Corrective Action for the Software Industry (Paperback)

I like the way this book maps what has primarily been a manufacturing focused approach to corrective action, to software projects. It has been something that has popped up more than once in my career. The, "why can't you just implement X like the Quality Team on the 2nd floor" question. I have never been able to completely answer why I found it hard to map the hardware team's quality process to software. This book has filled in the missing pieces. The difference between short term fixes vs finding and correcting the root cause of an issue that can be avoided in the future is a goal we can strive for in our software development. At a minimum this approach brings the team to a collaberative education of weaknesses in the process that can be identified. This book presents a straighforward, common sense approach, with good examples. This can be a good reference book for Issue Definition and Root Cause analysis.