Donald E. Harter’s research focuses on software process improvement and the effect on information technology organizations. His early work developed a model for assessing the effect of software process maturity on software quality, development effort and development time. More recently he has expanded this research to examine the organizational benefits of software process maturity in non-software organizations, and has offered insight into why these organizations exhibit a substantial delay in accruing benefits from software improvements. His current work examines the effect of software improvements on personnel issues, including hiring policies, salaries, promotions, attrition, management span of control, and organizational design. In addition, he is exploring the relationship between software process maturity, software contracting strategies, and management approaches to minimize costs in software development.