May 7th, 2024
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Why don't you aim to be a high-performance business organization by fostering "self-managed engineers" and "self-managed teams" who quickly and willingly develop high-quality software that meets user needs?

Over the past quarter century, software projects have failed to meet QCD goals due to vague requirements, changing requirements, skills shortages, slow progress, an unpredictable volume of test defects, and inadequate support [1, 2, 3, 4]. However, the organizational processes may not detail who or how to do it, and it may be difficult to improve it further.

The solution is to clearly guide the executor through all the necessary operating steps and their sequence, so that they can focus on developing high-quality software that meets their needs as planned. All procedures such as development and project management are broken down into detailed tasks, and these tasks are encapsulated in a correct order for each person in charge of execution, such as engineers and teams, and defined as scripts [5, 6].

The solution is to clearly guide the person who is doing it, including all the necessary operating steps and their order. This allows you to focus on developing high-quality software that meets your needs as planned. All procedures such as software engineering and project management are broken down into detailed tasks, and these tasks are encapsulated in a proper order for each person in charge of execution, such as engineers and teams, and defined as scripts [5, 6].

This new script can include new benefits. For example, when a work error is detected, it identifies the work that has injected the error. If the size of a work is estimated according to the estimation procedure, the estimated value is statistically optimized (predicted) based on the recorded actual performance data to show a more reliable size and effort (time).

Such scripts are provided to engineers as personal scripts [6]. According to this script, once an engineer understands the needs, he/she creates and proposes a solution (conceptual design) and the project plan. If they are approved, proceeds the development and produces high-quality work and improves productivity. These engineers are called self-managed engineers.

When self-managed engineers find inconsistencies in the solution or design, they can quickly fix the solution and then the others. Track progress with daily accuracy and can resolve delays as early as possible. They strive to eliminate and prevent defects based on recorded data.

To learn the personal script and develop these skills, engineer takes approximately two weeks of training from our certified instructors. The prerequisite is a good understanding of one programming language. Quality (1/2 to 1/5 reduction in test defects) and productivity are improved, and the ability to compile reports concisely and accurately is improved.

Project success requires ambitious but realistic teamwork. To do this, a team script is used so that team members utilize fully their skills and resources to respond user needs and achieve the project goals. Team leaders are freed from progress tracking, work assignments, communication improvement, etc., and are focused on the team management and support for team members to ensure project success.

A team script guides you to build a team called a self-managed team which is formed with self-managed engineers, support staff, experts, managers, and senior manager if necessary. In this case, our certified coaches will guide you through this script step by step in a concrete, easy-to-understand manner [5].

The project launch script, which is one section of the team script, allows the team and the senior management to review the solution, development plan, resources, and skill fulfillment to ensure they are consistent and achievable against the users, business, and technical needs. If achievable and agreeable, the senior management communicates the importance of the project and how to provide future support to the team.

The team members create and agree on the roles assigned to the members and the rules of how they work together and make the best use of their abilities and resources and then ask the leader for approval. This allows the team to manage progress, delays, quality, and more by themselves.

Implementing self-managed teams simplify complex project management tasks and negotiations. When projects are distributed among clients and contractors, it is easier to manage the whole thing by configuring self-managed teams for each site. In addition, in the development of products and services in a matrix organization, a self-managed team is built virtually for each product or service to be developed, and resource procurement and shipment schedule management are easily performed.

Here are some examples of feedback from self-managed teams: they enjoyed working on the project, they were able to get timely cooperation from other team members, they were able to contribute more than expected, they were able to stay within the plan, they were able to reduce the testing time by 1/4, and they were able to improve the quality with each iteration of the project [5, 7, 8, 9].

From the above explanation, we hope that you can understand the possibility of proceeding with IT projects with a sense of security, ensuring that your IT project QCD goals are achieved, and strengthening the software business. You can take the "TSP Executive Strategy" to learn more about these implementation strategies.

The Next Process Institute (NPI) is here to meet your needs. Visit the “TSP Process Training Objectives” page and then the “Introduction of TSP courses” page for more detailed descriptions. If you would like to attend a seminar or training, please refer to the "TSP Course Registration" page and send us your request. If you have any questions or requests, please let us know from the "Contact Us" page. We will get back to you soon.

In addition, we offer a low fee for on-site seminars, courses, and coaching, so please take advantage of this.

Thank you,

Yoshihiro Akiyama PhD., PMP
https://www.next-process.com


[1] Standish Group Reports 83.9% of IT Projects Fail – How to Save Yours https://www.opendoorerp.com/the-standish-group-report-83-9-of-it-projects-partially-or-completely-fail/ (November 25, 2021)

[2] Japan Information Systems Users Association (JUAS) Corporate IT Trend Survey Report 2022 (FY2021 Survey).

[3] Japan Information System Users Association (JUAS) User Company Software Metrics Survey [System Development and Maintenance Survey Report] 2020 Edition.

[4] Troubles such as double bookings in seat reservation systems and large-scale failures in mobile IC card payment systems have been reported even around us. Any test cannot show that the defect detected this time is the last. This is demonstrated.

[5] Since the 1990s, the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU/SEI) in the United States has been working on this problem. In 2001, Dr. Watts S. Humphrey, an advocate of Software CMM, led the development and verification of PSP/TSP (Personal Software Process/Team Software Process). Many companies, including Boeing and Microsoft, have demonstrated the performance. Dr. Watts S. Humphrey awarded prestigious National Medal of Technology in 2009 Technology (Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute’s Watts Humphrey Awarded Prestigious National Medal of Technology (cmu.edu). CMM, PSP, and TSP are service marks of Carnegie Mellon University, USA.

[6] A script (a theatrical script or musical score) is a sequence of who, when, how, and what actions should be performed in the correct order from beginning to end. Being able to check the start and end conditions of a script at the beginning and end of the script confirms the guarantee of script execution. Each time a script step is executed, it records the size of the work, the time needed to complete the work, the defect found/removed and the name of the work that created it. Check your progress from these data.

[7] Caper Jones, Software Engineering Best Practices: Lessons from Successful Projects in the Top Companies, 2009/11/5

[8] TSP Symposium (2006-2014) organized by CMU/SEI and the TSPi projects conducted by graduate students since 2010.

[9] Next Process Laboratories Co., Ltd. started this initiative efforts in 2007 as a CMU/SEI strategic partner, providing seminars, training, and project support to many engineers, administrators, university faculty and students of companies and universities in Japan and China.


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