Tensions around the adoption and evolution of software quality management systems: a discourse analytic approach

This paper reports some results from a project to uncover the non-technical factors that affect the adoption and evolution of software quality management systems (SQMS). Data was collected through interviews and analysed using discourse analysis. A significant tension was found between the training of software engineers, which focuses on explicit facts rather than tacit knowledge, which can obscure important aspects of quality management. The paper demonstrates how software engineers may use a technique from the social sciences to better understand their own practices.