Process Improvement Proposals (PIPs) · Process Improvement Principles It takes time, skill, and money to improve the software process To improve the software process, someone must

Process Improvement Proposals (PIPs)Organization, Team, Individual

AIS Experience Report

TSP Symposium

September 18-20, 2006

Advanced Information Services Inc.

aisProprietary and Confidential

Some of the SEI’s Service andRegistration Marks

The following are service marks of Carnegie Mellon University:CMMI, Team Software Process, TSP, Personal Software Process,

PSP

The following are registered trademarks of Carnegie MellonUniversity:Capability Maturity Model, CMM, Capability Maturity Model

Integration, CMMI, CERT



Topics

Issues◆ Quality and Schedule◆ Rational Management and Commitment◆ Insanity and Malpractice

Three Improvement Perspectives◆ Organization - CMM/CMMI◆ Individual – PSP◆ Team – TSP

Continuous Improvement Mechanism – ProcessImprovement Proposal

◆ AIS Experience

Lessons Learned



Quality Is More Important ThanSchedule

“In today’s software marketplace, theprincipal focus is on cost, schedule, andfunction; quality is lost in the noise. This isunfortunate since poor quality performanceis the root cause of most software cost andschedule problems.”

Watts Humphrey



Rational Management - Developers

When pressed for early deliveries, theresponsible team members say

“I understand your requirements, I will do my

utmost to meet it, but until I make a plan, I cannot responsibly commit to a date”



Rational Management - Managers

When pressed for early deliveries, theresponsible managers say

“I trust you to create an aggressive and realisticplan, I will review the plan, but I will notcommit you to a date that you can not meet”



Insanity or Malpractice?

InsanityDoing the same thing over and over and expecting a

different result

MalpracticeAn organization which does not have a

top-management-sponsoredcontinuous improvement initiative in place



5 Optimizing

4 Managed

3 Defined

2 Repeatable

Continuous processimprovement

Product and processquality

Engineering process

Project management

Defect preventionTechnology change managementProcess change management

Quantitative process managementSoftware quality management

Requirements managementSoftware project planningSoftware project trackingSoftware quality assuranceSoftware configuration managementSoftware subcontract management

Level Focus Key Process Areas (KPA)

Organization process focusOrganization process definitionTraining programIntegrated software managementSoftware product engineeringIntergroup coordinationPeer reviews

Organization ImprovementCapability Maturity Model



Issues Addressed by CMM

Getting management attention

Maintaining long-term improvement focus

Guiding the improvement work



CMM Results – ScheduleGM

Average number of days late in meeting milestones declined from over50 days to fewer than 10 following organization focus on CMMI

General Motors Presentation, SEPG, Boston, MA, 2003



CMM Results – Defects

The TSP in Practice, SEI Technical Report, September 2003



CMM Problems

No simple model could precisely measure process maturityand complex models are not useful in guidingimprovementCMM consciously focused on what organization should do,not on how they should do itThe teamwork practices and personal disciplines requiredfor quality software work are almost entirely issues of how,and not just whatBecause engineers will not change the way they workwithout very specific guidance, the CMM does not changeengineering behavior



The Real Need

The need is not for lots of process data but forengineers who gather and use that data

What would happen if software professionals usedsound engineering practices?– made and followed detailed plans– gathered and used historical data– measured and managed quality– analyzed and improved their processes

The need is for a Level 5 Process at the individuallevel



PSP0Current processTime recording

Defect recordingDefect type standard

PSP1Size estimating

Test report

PSP2Code reviews

Design reviews

PSP3Cyclic development

PSP2.1Design templates

PSP1.1Task planning

Schedule planning

PSP0.1Coding standard

Size measurementProcess improvement

proposal (PIP)

Team SoftwareProcess

RequirementsConfiguration management

scaling up PSPmethods to largerprojects

defect and yield management

size, resource, and schedule plans

establishing a measured performancebaseline

Source: Software Engineering Institute

Self ImprovementPersonal Software Process - 1



Self ImprovementPersonal Software Process -2

At the end of the PSP training, developersknow how to:

◆ Consistently gather size, time, and defect data

◆ Make commitments based on historical data

◆ Analyze personal data to answer questions– Where am I spending my time?

– What are my common defects?

– Where do I inject the defects?

– What goals do I need to set to improve?



PSP Results – ScheduleAIS

Schedule Deviation Individual Value Control Chart -Commercial Systems

-150-100

-500

50100150200250300350

01/88 01/89 01/90 01/91 01/92 01/93 01/94 01/95 01/96 01/97 01/98 01/99 01/00

Date of Project Phase Start

% D

evia

tio

n

Individual Data Points Mean Upper Natural Process Limit Low er Natural Process Limit One Standard Deviation



U ser Accep tan ce D efects /K L OC

0

0 .2

0 .4

0 .6

0 .8

1

May

-90

Sep-91

Jan-

93

Jun-9

4

Oct-9

5

Mar

-97

Jul-9

8

Dec-99

Apr-01

Sep-02

P ro jec t S tart D ate

Def

ects

/KL

OC

PSP Results – DefectsAIS



PSP Problems

To do quality work, engineers need a detailed planand a defined process

Without the process, they cannot make detailedplans, take consistent measurements, or track theirwork against the plan

However, when engineers have a project to deliver,they are rarely willing to take the time to define acomplex process, even when they know how



The Real Need

Need a mechanism to guide teams throughdefining their processes and makingcomplete, precise, and detailed plans

Need a vehicle to help organizationscapitalize on the potential benefits ofdisciplined teamwork



Team ImprovementSelf-directed Teams

Characteristics of self-directed teams– Sense of membership and belonging

– Commitment to a common team goal

– Ownership of the process and plan

– The skill to make a plan, the conviction todefend it, and the discipline to follow it

– Dedication to excellence



Building Self-directed TeamsTSP Launch Process

1. Establish product and

business goals

2. Assign rolesand define team goals

4. Build top-down and

next-phase plans

5. Developthe quality

plan

6. Build bottom-up and

balancedplans

7. Conductrisk

assessment

8. Preparemanagementbriefing and

launch report

Launchpostmortem

9. Holdmanagement

review

New teams:TSP process

review

3. Produce development

strategy

Source: Software Engineering Institute



Average Task Hours Per Team Member

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

9/23

10/7

10/2

1

11/4

11/1

8

12/2

12/1

6

12/3

0

1/13

1/27

2/10

2/24

3/10

3/24

Week

Ho

urs

TSP Results – Task Hours

Source: Allied Signal



7.5

6.24

4.73

2.28

1.050.06

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Def

ects

/KL

OC

CMMLevel 1

CMMLevel 2

CMMLevel 3

CMMLevel 4

CMMLevel 5

TSP

Defect Density of Delivered Software

Ref: SEI Technical Report 2003-014

TSP Results - Defects



Source: “From MCC to CMM”, Dr. Bill Curtis, DC SPIN, April 2006



Process Improvement PrinciplesIt takes time, skill, and money to improve the softwareprocessTo improve the software process, someone must work on itUnplanned process improvement is wishful thinkingAutomation of a poorly defined process will producepoorly defined resultsImprovements should be made in small stepsTrain, train, train!

Source: Managing the Software Process, Watts Humphrey



Empowered CultureProcess Improvement Proposals (PIPS)



The AIS PIP Process



AIS PIPs Summary

Jan 22, 1992 – To date

No. of PIPs submitted 1502No. of PIPs implemented: 972No. of PIPs by improvement category:

• Improved quality 232• Reduced cycle time 86• Reduced risk 63• Improved documentation 161• Not categorized 410



PIP – Organization Process

Incorporate the TSP into the AIS CPIW assuggested by the attached work products(ProjectCommitmentProcess.zip) which reflect thecurrent practiceChange Launch meeting 9A so that review is held,not only by management, but also peer ProjectManagers. Accordingly, these same individualsmay need to be present in meeting 1B



PIP – Team Process

For UI component enhancements, change processto do Design Inspection, Test Case Inspectionsand Code Inspections after Compile

For components where performance requirementis critical, execute two rounds of unit test– Unit test of performance test cases before code

inspection

– Unit test of features after code inspection



PIP – Personal Process

Reduce phase distribution % for DesignReview for UI Components

Update Personal Review Checklist

Batch process E Mail three times a day

Move end of day post mortem to start ofday to process and analyze previous day’sdata



Lessons Learned - 1

While models are useful to indicate whereimprovements are needed, only committed peoplecan make the improvementsA supportive management environment thatrewards disciplined behavior is absolutelyessentialTimely feedback on the status and disposition ofthe PIPs is important to sustain the PIPmechanism and feeling of empowermentDo not need to wait till level 5 to startimplementing process change management



Lessons Learned - 2

While CMM is necessary as an organizational capabilityimprovement model, it is not sufficient to change engineeringbehavior; the PSP provides the detailed “how to” forimprovement at the individual levelThe TSP provides the management framework for continuouslyimproving self directed teams. The PIP mechanism is key forteam ownership of the project’s process and commitment toimproveCMM, TSP, and PSP all three are needed for an integratedapproach to model based improvement at the organization, team,and individual levels without the risk of sub-optimization



Contact Information

Girish Seshagiri


(703) 286 0781

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.advinfo.net

Documents

Process Improvement Proposals (PIPs) · Process Improvement Principles It takes time, skill, and money to improve the software process To improve the software process, someone must