"Masterfully written by Yeakley and Fiebrich, this book, Collaborative Process Improvement, offers refreshing encouragement in a worldly approach that transcends boundaries of functional processes, and provides many metaphors which may be used in human relations." -Salvador SeBasco, Literary Director and host of the INSIDE VIEWTM show, on CNN affiliate station KNLE The complete and practical handbook to successfully implement quality awareness at any software company Collaborative Process Improvement specifically addresses software companies that are interested in addressing quality in human terms. Using Collaborative Process Improvement techniques builds effective processes to deliver quality products; it helps readers relate to what quality means to the end-user and provides the essential tools and methods to integrate the face of the customer into the organization's day-to-day processes. It comes complete with real-world examples that are practical and understandable to professionals in every role of a company. Evolving from the authors' firsthand experiences in the software, semiconductor, and computer industries, Collaborative Process Improvement features practical methods that allow work to be individually mapped and analyzed, and then recombined to create an overall picture. It makes implementation easy with a wealth of checklists, templates, exercises, tips, and pitfalls to avoid. This hands-on guide covers: * Mapping your own world * Establishing Advocates and Champions * Training the organization * Acknowledging cultural diversity * Managing change * Encouraging continuous process improvement * Spreading the improvement initiative * Determining measures of evaluation and success * Rewarding process improvement successes * Seeing your company from the customer's eyes * Uniting individual and group maps There's no need for expensive tools or programs-Collaborative Process Improvement is all that software companies need to effectively build improvement processes into the daily work life of every employee.