Espire has felt a constant need to improve on the processes to exceed the client expectations. Espire has been continually improving upon designing and implementing a standard process of managing the software systems

In line with the key quality objective to seek continuous improvement, the processes are piloted, assessed and institutionalized across the organization as "best practices".

Some of these best practices, compliant with the SEI CMMI Level 5 Key Process Areas, are:

Project Planning & Tracking

• Comprehensive processes, supported by automated tools
• Relevant and proven estimation techniques
• Risk Management Plan, including risk identification and mitigation

Software Quality Assurance

" Dedicated Quality Assurance Group (QAG)
" ITNET - Comprehensive Intranet portal of QAG
" Multiple levels of reviews, including Weekly Reviews, Phase-End Reviews and Internal Audits

Software Product Engineering

• Relevant Development Cycles and Methodologies (UML, RUP)
• Requirement Trace ability Matrix (RTM)
• Re-usable Component Library

Continuous Improvements

• Technology and Process Change Management Groups (TCMG & PCMG)
• Strategic plan to adapt new technologies
• Process development, measurement and enhancement in a controlled manner
• Employee participation in improvements

Espire has formed the following four core groups to drive quality initiatives across the organization:

1. The Process Change Management Group (PCM): Monitors existing processes at Espire for scope of improvement, discovers specific process improvement areas, carries out detailed impact analysis, identifies tools and drivers for process change and calculates the cost and benefits achievable from process change.
2. The Technology Change Management Group (TCM): Monitors the new and emerging technologies, identifies, tools, methods and processes, assesses the impact resultant of technology change and calculates the ROI of technology change
3. The Defect Prevention Group (DP): Assures quality across all projects at Espire, carries out quality assurance activities, monitors defects, slippages and overruns, identifies problem areas and takes preventive action
4. The Innovation Group: Ensures cross-organization generation of new ideas pertaining to technology and process improvement, analyzes feasibility of the generated ideas, calculates the ROI of idea implementation and ensures implementation of the ideas.

The preceding 4 groups ensure that Espire is not only abreast of quality and innovation that take place in the industry but also benefits from them.

The following diagram depicts the roles of the 4 groups in Espire's quality initiatives