“A disciplined software engineering process includes both effective defect management

and comprehensive planning, tracking, and analysis methods,” wrote Watts Humphrey in

introduces these disciplines and shows you how to use them to do better development

work on both small and large programs.”

With that understated passage, Humphrey and the Software Engineering Institute

individual software engineers—and ultimately, software organizations—to produce

computer programs. Humphrey and the SEI followed up with the Team Software

methods of the PSP often worked best when applied by entire teams.

Our Background article, “CMM, PSP, and TSP: Three Dimensions of Software

Improvement,” offers a condensed version of Humphrey’s three-part series in the

http://stsc.hill.af.mil/crosstalk). The article provides an overview of how PSP and TSP

can give individuals and teams the tools they need to achieve software process

improvement.

Our Spotlight article, “Delivering on the Promise of Process Improvement,” offers status

reports from successful PSP/TSP introductions at major organizations, including Boeing,

Motorola, and Hill Air Force Base. The Roundtable discussion, “Tales from the Front

Lines: Insights from PSP/TSP Trainers and Researchers,” provides a view of the

challenges of PSP/TSP introduction from the perspective of trainers and researchers who

know first-hand how hard it is to change engineers’ ingrained behaviors.

Finally, our Links feature offers a guided tour of information available on the Web about

PSP and TSP.