The Personal Software Process

Watts S. Humphrey

The personal software process (PSP) has been developed by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) to address the need for process improvement in small organizations and small project teams. This work started from the premise that improved personal process discipline can help to increase the effectiveness of individual engineers. It was also felt that as the individual engineers' performance improves, the performance of their teams and projects will also be more likely to improve.

The research work on the PSP started in 1989. It resulted in a method that is now being taught in several graduate university software engineering and computer science courses and experimentally tried at four corporations. While the PSP principles have been demonstrated with graduate software engineering students, their effectiveness has not yet been measured in industrial practice.

The current work on the PSP is focused on gaining experience with teaching the PSP and on identifying the most effective means for transitioning the approach into industrial practice. While the PSP methods are not complex and can be readily learned through self study, early indications are that a course environment is most effective. In particular, there is some evidence that many engineers will be more likely to personally adopt the methods if they behave worked the PSP exercises in parallel with learning the methods. It is not yet clear what percentage of engineers will personally use the methods after completing the course but it appears that a reasonable number will. It is reasonably clear, however, that those engineers who do not work the exercises will not likely adopt the methods.