Concrete guidelines are often helpful, when planning software process improvement activities. Especially minor companies may have difficulties in implementing full-scale SPI programs. One solution is to focus the improvement on the most effective quality methods. This paper introduces a set of patterns to direct the improvement of the software inspection process. Patterns help in setting overall goals for the improvement and describe specific actions that are needed to enhance the process. The patterns have been experimented in a software company that is carrying out a process improvement project. The experiment started with an evaluation of the inspection process capability, after which the process was updated according to determined goals. The process has been performing more effectively after the improvement effort in this case. Results of the experiment show that the pattern approach provides a feasible and quick method for launching SPI activities, although some refinements are needed to fully exploit them.