Results of Applying the Personal Software Process

  • Authors:

  • Pat Ferguson;Watts S. Humphrey;Soheil Khajenoori;Susan Macke;Annette Matvya

  • Affiliations:

  • -;-;-;-;-

  • Venue:
  • Computer
  • Year:
  • 1997

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Abstract

In most professions, competent work requires the disciplined use of established practices. Software professionals, however, are generally not taught planning, tracking, or quality measurement. And too often, they follow inefficient methods and procedures. The Personal Software Process is a methodology that helps software engineers plan and track their work. Because PSP was only experimentally introduced in 1994 and has been undergoing further development, relatively little data on its use and effectiveness has been available. This article reports the experience of three industrial software groups that have used PSP and have collected data to show its effectiveness: Advanced Information Services Inc., Motorola Paging Products Group, and Union Switch & Signal Inc. Application areas included commercial data processing, internal manufacturing support, communications product support, and real-time process control. All PSP projects in these organizations were delivered on or ahead of schedule and only one has had any customer-reported defects. The effective use of PSP depends on proper training, but with the training and continuing management interest, the authors conclude that PSP is an effective methodology for efficiently developing quality software.