Making the PSP & TSP Work
Alan Koch

Concepts:

Many of us have heard the glowing reports about the benefits of implementing the PSP & TSP (Personal Software Process & Team Software Process).  But what would it take to make them work in your organization?   This presentation will touch on the principles behind the PSP and TSP, and examine what is required to make them work.

Presentation Outline:                                                                                   

·         Data-Driven Planning                                                                                        
·         The PSP metrics
·         Attitudes toward metrics (Engineers & Management)
·         Management’s willingness to not see Engineers’ private data
·         Willingness to rely on real data
·         A Collaborative Planning Process                                                                      
·         The PSP planning framework & TSP planning process
·         Involvement of engineers in planning
·         Using individual estimation
·         Negotiating commitments
·         Evolutionary Planning                                                                                        
·         TSP re-launches
·         Renegotiating commitments
·         Management by Fact                                                                                        
·         Earned Value tracking
·         Managing quality
·         Managing based on the data

Learning Objectives:

·         Understand how basic principles upon which the PSP & TSP are built
·         Identify the organizational attributes that would lead to success with the PSP & TSP

Biography:

Alan S. Koch’s 24 years in software development includes 9+ years designing, developing and maintaining software, 5+ years in Quality Assurance (including establishing & managing a QA department), and 3+ years in Software Process Improvement.  Alan is now an independent consultant helping companies to improve the return on their software investment by focusing on the quality of both their software products and the processes they use to development them.

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Accelerating Software Development for Small Projects Using Cycle Time Reduction Techniques
Neil Potter

Concepts:

Short cycle time gives you a competitive edge. Studies by McKinsey and Co. show that being on time but 50% over budget loses about 3% of total potential profit over the product's lifetime. But meeting budget while being 6 months late loses 32% of total profit potential. Why? Because during that 6 months your competitor has gained an edge that you can seldom recover from.  How do you reduce cycle time? Skimp on quality? Add more staff? Have people work overtime? These are the classic, short-term solutions to schedule problems. They sometimes work -- but they do nothing to head off the next schedule crisis, and often make it worse. The solution boils down to three fundamentals: reduce variability, simplify processes and achieve smooth flow.

Presentation Outline:

·         Motivation - why cycle time is important
·         Motivation - house video and discussion
·         Symptoms and causes of cycle time problems
·         Definitions - basic terms and concepts
·         How cycle time is improved (3 basic steps)
·         Step 1 - Reducing variability
·         Step 2 - Reducing process complexity
·         Step 3 - Achieving smooth flow

Learning Objectives:

·         Why cycle time is important

·         How to identify cycle time problems

·         Symptoms and causes of cycle time problems

·         The three fundamentals of cycle time: reduce variability, simplify processes and achieve smooth flow

·         A process for cycle time improvement

Biography:

Neil Potter is a software-engineering consultant. He has a degree in Computer Science and experience in software development, management and process improvement. In 1990, he co- founded The Process Group. Since 1990, The Process Group has helped organizations implement the CMM, and achieve SEI Levels 2, 3 and 4. They have also helped organizations implement effective project management, inspections, and software process improvement programs.

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EVO - A Lifecycle for Developing Web-Based Applications at Internet Speed
Bushan Gupta, Steve Rhodes

Concepts:

Web-based applications pose unique challenges to developers: “first to market”, “marketing the right product or service”, and “making the product sticky”.  To “make the product sticky”, that is, to keep customers inside your application and keep them coming back, it is important that the product delivers high value, all the time, with acceptable quality.  Under the constraints of scope, schedule, and resources, quality is often sacrificed.  A product must have an optimal mix of value, stickiness, and quality to survive in the web marketplace. In an effort to choose a suitable lifecycle for its Web-based development, development teams across Hewlett-Packard and Agilent have switched to an Evolutionary lifecycle (EVO) for its strengths in user feedback, risk analysis and mitigation, and product releasability to meet “first to market" challenges.

Presentation Outline:

·         Challenges of developing web-based products at Internet speed
·         Possible software development lifecycle candidates
·         Strengths of the EVO lifecycle
·         Overcoming weaknesses of the EVO lifecycle
·         EVO case studies
·         Setting the stage for the EVO lifecycle
·         Monitoring the lifecycle progress
·         Identifying and implementing continuous process improvements

Learning Objectives:

·         Establishing product development challenges
·         Evaluating relevant lifecycles and selecting an appropriate lifecycle
·         Preparations necessary to adopt the EVO lifecycle
·         Tools and techniques for the EVO lifecycle
·         Minimizing development risks
·         Continuous improvements in people, technology and processes

Biography:

Bhushan Gupta is a Software Development Engineer at Hewlett-Packard Company. He has a MS degree in Computer Science from New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, New Mexico and is a member of American Society for Quality.