Purpose: Small software companies in the development process of software products subject to tight schedule and resources to withstand a great test. The purpose of this study is to analyze a case study for over 6 years its practical experience in software product development process against Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF, Microsoft Solution Framework) in order to identify the execution methods for increasing market compliance, reducing development cost, and shortening the development time. This allows us to develop a practice guide for software product development in small software companies. Design/methodology/approach: The proposed software development guidelines for small software companies, SPDG (Software Product Develop Guideline), follow the basic principles, logics, and the team model of MSFv4 and serve as the foundation for software product management. In the guidelines, this study identifies 15 key execution methods based on practical experience in the case study. Findings: Following the SPDG, small software companies can save development time by 16.1% and improve product quality and work efficiency. The SPDG is proven to be an effective software project management guide for small software companies. Research limitations/implications: This paper adopted case study researchmethod to analyze only one commercial software company. Future research may study more companies for cross-company analysis and use quantitative data to develop other insights. Practical implications: This paper confirms that the development of a set of proven, practical guidelines for gradual improvement is feasible. A small software company can use the proposed SPDG to implement and manage its new software development project. Originality/value: This study proposes the SPDG for a small software company which allows the execution of tasks taking into account the existing management system.