RightSizing the Software Development Process

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Right-Sizingthe SW Development ProcessAltaf
Khan
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software development process
?
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Good process and continually improving process
are admirable goals
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They are also very natural goals Good technical
workers will focus on them whether your tellem
to or not!
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software process standards?
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the trouble with CMM ...
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the trouble with model-based process improvement
...
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how do we know if the model is correct? (because
the author says so!)
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how do we know if the model is applicable to all
sorts of projects and organizations?(because the
author says so!)
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they give no guarantees
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false sense of security
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creativity stifling atmosphere
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dont get me wrongstandards are good
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standardize the interface
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What is the alternative to model-based process
improvement?
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achtung!
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CMM issuesCMM philosophy
!
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Are there any fruitful alternatives to
model-based process improvement?
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here is one alternative ...
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Define the (business) objective of the process
improvement effort
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exampleI wanna finish my projects on time,
within budget, and with known quality
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WARNING!One should not expect too great a
benefit for the current project, but should look
for longer-term improvements
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Process Improvement Recipe

• Define your current SW development lifecycle
• Identify the main bottleneck
• Look for a remedy for removing the bottleneck
• Remove that bottleneck
• Identify the next one find remedy remove

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K E Y M E S S A G Esolve process
problems one at a time
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how do I identify problems?
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measure your process!
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measurements help in the identification of
problems! measurements help in determining the
effectiveness of remedies!
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Anything that you need to quantify can be
measured in some way that is superior to not
measuring at all! Tom Gilb
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A few meaningful, butsimple-to-implementmeasures
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Time
Actualprogress
Milestone 8 was was actually achieved on the
100th day
Milestone 8 was planned to be achieved on the
91st day
Planned
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Sorted Milestones
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Defects
Total reported defects
Defects fixed to date
Defects yet to be fixed
Time
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Defects
Upper limit
Actualdefects
Lower limit
Test cases
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DefectRipple
Three new defects appeared as a consequence
of fixing defect 5
4 -3 -2 -1 -0 -
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Defect Fixed
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Not - A - Defect
4 -3 -2 -1 -0 -
Time
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the measure should beas simple as possible, but
meaningful
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the (perpetual) process improvement cycle
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Keep measuring
Keep measuring
Identify problem
Identify problem
Propagate
Propagate
Learn from pilot
Learn from pilot
Find remedy
Find remedy
Pilot remedy
Pilot remedy
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main messages
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Essential ProcessesProject planning
trackingRequirements managementConfiguration
managementDefects tracking
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motivatethe team about the benefits before
implementing the processinvolve the team in the
design of the process
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Dont make more than a single change during the
lifecycles of individual projectsotherwise
youll impede the progress of the project
significantly