Introduction to Personal Process Course

Are you prepared to support a TSP project?

Course Description

Introduction to Personal Process is a two-day course that prepares students to participate on Team Software Process (TSP) teams. The course covers the key concepts and principles of the Personal Software Process (PSP) at a high level so that students understand the terminology and the philosophy behind the methods. Students are guided through a series of lectures and exercises that teach the PSP process and prepare them to plan and track their work as part of a TSP project team.

Organizations that develop software recognize that controlling their software process significantly affects their ability to be successful in business. However, organizations still struggle when trying to apply disciplined methods in the software process. Historically, this struggle has been due to a lack of operational procedures that teams and individuals can use to develop software in a disciplined fashion.

Organizations seem to know what they want their teams to be doing but they struggle with how to do it. The PSP and the TSP are designed to provide both a strategy and a set of operational procedures for using disciplined software process methods at the individual and team levels.

At the individual level, the PSP

	shows managers and engineers how and why to plan and track their projects
	demonstrates the principles and benefits of effective quality management
	involves the engineers in process measurement, management, and improvement

At the team level, the TSP

	builds accurate, achievable plans for software project teams
	provides a formal team building process
	provides the mechanism for tracking progress against project plans

Audience

This course is for non-software engineers who will participate on a TSP project such as system, hardware and test engineers, technical writers and trainers.

Members of integrated product development teams building software-intensive systems.

This course is not appropriate for software developers. They should take the PSP for Engineers course.

Objectives

Successful completion of this course enables participants to

	understand the rationale and foundational concepts behind the PSP and TSP
	develop ways to measure the size, time, and defects in their work
	use the PSP planning framework to plan and track those tasks
	use the PSP quality strategy to manage the defects in their work and support the team's quality goals

Topics

This course provides the students with a general familiarity with the PSP and the TSP technologies and prepares them to participate on a TSP team.

	PSP process framework
	Measurement in the PSP
	Defining a personal process
	PSP planning framework
	Estimating and scheduling
	In-process control and tracking
	Defect management
	Process analysis and improvement
	Team Software Process

Pre-work

After registering for the Introduction to Personal Process course, attendees receives a copy of two books by Watts S. Humphrey:

Introduction to the Personal Software Process, ISBN 0-201-54809-7, 2000.

Introduction to the Team Software Process, ISBN 0-201-47719-X, 1999.

An accompanying letter details the pre-course reading assignments. It is important that the assigned chapters are read before coming to the course.

Class Schedule

The Introduction to Personal Process course is a two-day course.

Days one and two: 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Availability

Courses are typically offered by special arrangement at customer sites.

Cost

This class is generally taught as part of a comprehensive introduction program at the customer site.

When taught at the Northern Horizons facilities, the cost is:

Industry: $800 per person

Government: $800 per person

Academic: $700 per person

Course Registration

To register for this course, contact by

Mail: Northern Horizons Inc., 61 Russell Hill Road, Brookline, NH 03033

Phone: (603) 673-2808

E-mail: rtonneberger@NorthHorizons.com

Questions about this course?

If you need more information, contact us via e-mail at rtonneberger@NorthHorizons.com or telephone at (603) 673-2808.