Abstract:

Understanding how the software industry works at the company level is of the utmost importance, since this understanding allows us to guide, promote and apply continuous improvement in its development. However, there are very few studies that provide a description of these practices. This article presents an investigation about the practices of the software industry in Chile to obtain information about its processes, tools and methods, as well as the factors that drive success, risk and failure in the development of software products. For this, an ethnographic study was carried out in a group of software development companies throughout Chile during a series of short stays. The results indicate that the companies carry out projects applying sets of good practices in which the clients identify themselves as a fundamental factor in the development of the project. This study also demonstrates certain shared trends, such as estimating projects using expert criteria, development teams composed only of the project and developer heads, and meetings as the main activity for capturing requirements, among others. This empirical study can help guide and develop future methodological strategies in the industry.