Winning with Software An Executive Strategy

by Humphrey, Watts S.

• ISBN13: 9780201776393
• ISBN10: 0201776391
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-12-20
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional

Summary

"Every senior executive needs to read this book." --Robert Musson Vice President, Business Strategy Cenus Technologies "An informative book for any business person (not just technologists) who has ever been associated or involved with a software development effort and thought 'there must be a better way!'Watts has provided that better way-- the PSP/TSP, and a great book." --Roy Kinkaid, Head of Continuous Improvement and Software Quality Assurance, EBS Dealing Resources Watts Humphrey is the well-known author of methods and models widely used by organizations, teams, and individuals to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of software development. In Winning with Software, he shows corporate executives and senior managers why software is both a business problem and a business opportunity. "This book is extremely well written and targets the right audience. I plan to buy a copy for each of my executives." --Kevin J. Berk, Director, Process Improvement, Total Quality Systems Humphrey, drawing on his own extensive executive and management experience, first demonstrates the critical importance of software to nearly every business, large and small. He then outlines seven steps needed to gain control of a software operation and transform it into a professional, businesslike engineering function. Failure to recognize the importance of software, and to take charge of its development process, runs the risk of damaging the entire business. By contrast, Humphrey relates the substantial benefits real organizations have obtained from such awareness and control, and he concludes with an analysis of the impressive financial returns the recommended transformations typically yield. "This is a great book that will play a valuable role. It has excellent anecdotes that illustrate the points being made, as well as good examples depicting the problems faced by teams and managers. I look forward to sharing it with my colleagues." --Steven Sliwa, President & CEO, Insitu Group Inc. and former President of Embry-Riddle University "The logical approach, the high level explanations, and the application of real-life experiences make the book not only credible but easily understood. If a large number of CEOs don't at least try out the book's concepts, I will be greatly surprised." --David Webb Software Engineering Project Manager, Hill Air Force Base

Author Biography

Known as “the father of software quality,” Watts S. Humphrey is the author of numerous influential books on the software-development process and software process improvement. Humphrey is a fellow of the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie Mellon University, where he founded the Software Process Program and provided the vision and early leadership for the original Capability Maturity Model (CMM). He also is the creator of the Personal Software Process (PSP) and Team Software Process (TSP). Recently, he was awarded the National Medal of Technology—the highest honor given by the president of the United States to America's leading innovators.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Every Business Is a Software Business	p. 1
The Principles of Software Management	p. 2
Why Every Business Is a Software Business	p. 4
We're in the Hardware Business	p. 5
Maintain Control of Product Uniqueness	p. 7
Quality Is More Important Than Schedule	p. 8
In Software, What Must Happen Often Does Not	p. 10
A Quality Commitment	p. 11
Summary and Conclusions	p. 13
References	p. 14
Why Projects Fail	p. 15
The Crash Project That Almost Crashed	p. 15
The Causes of Project Failure	p. 17
The Executive Role in Project Failure	p. 24
Summary and Conclusions	p. 26
Reference	p. 27
Rational Management	p. 29
Facing Facts	p. 29
Cutting Cycle Time	p. 30
You're Ruining the Business	p. 32
Getting the Facts	p. 33
The Flight-Test Deadline	p. 36
The Essence of Rational Management	p. 37
Summary and Conclusions	p. 39
Why Quality Pays	p. 41
Poor-Quality Software Can Be Life-Threatening	p. 41
Quality Work Saves Time and Money	p. 43
Defect-Removal Strategies	p. 45
Quality Work Is More Predictable	p. 47
If You Don't Manage Software Quality, Nobody Else Will	p. 47
Summary and Conclusions	p. 50
References	p. 50
Leadership Goals	p. 51
Faster, Better, Cheapter	p. 51
Fixing Software in an Organization	p. 53
Establishing the Goal	p. 53
Accelerate the Work, Not Just the Schedule	p. 54
Improving Quality	p. 57
Cutting Costs	p. 58
Improving Task Time	p. 60
Defining Responsibilities	p. 62
Summary and Conclusions	p. 63
References	p. 64
Changing Engineering Behavior	p. 65
What, Not How	p. 66
Disciplined Software Practices	p. 67
Convincing Others	p. 69
The PSP Course	p. 70
Coming Full Circle	p. 74
Summary and Conclusions	p. 75
References	p. 76
Building Motivated Teams	p. 77
The EBS BrokerNet Team	p. 77
Developing the TSP	p. 78
How to Build Motivated Teams	p. 79
The Teradyne Team	p. 80
The Final Result	p. 83
How Do You Motivate Teams?	p. 84
Building Committed Teams	p. 84
The EBS Results	p. 86
A Trusting Environment	p. 87
The Consequences of Impossible Dates	p. 87
Maintaining Team Commitment	p. 88
Summary and Conclusions	p. 89
Reference	p. 90
The Benefits of Teamwork	p. 91
Better Predictability	p. 91
Shorter Cycle Time	p. 92
Reduced Development Costs	p. 94
Improved Product Quality	p. 95
Reduced Employee Turnover	p. 97
TSP Introduction Costs	p. 98
Return on Investment	p. 99
Discounted Return on Investment	p. 100
Summary and Conclusions	p. 102
References	p. 102
Next Steps	p. 105
The Seven Transformation Steps	p. 105
The Action Plan	p. 110
Summary and Conclusions	p. 112
The TSP Process	p. 115
Launching a TSP Project	p. 123
Reviewing a Project Plan	p. 133
The Quarterly Project Review	p. 157
The Standard-Stage Review	p. 177
Return on Investment	p. 197
Index	p. 213
For Additional Information	p. 231
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

When I mention software to senior executives, I get lots of reactions. Most are frustrated. They complain about missed commitments, quality problems, and unpleasant surprises. Others have been less closely involved. Software was a problem, but those problems have been handled. No one mentions the business opportunities of software. They think of software as a necessary evilsomething to be avoided if possible. While most executives would agree that the software part of their business is growing very quickly, they never think of it as an asset or an opportunity. By using the methods described in this book, organizations have transformed their software groups. The first Boeing team cut test time by 94%; an air force group doubled productivity; a Teradyne project delivered a large defect-free product. These and other organizations are getting outstanding results. However, they all started with a management focus on the opportunities with software. THREAT OR OPPORTUNITY Software is a truly incredible technology. It has a zero production cost, can be distributed worldwide in seconds, does not wear out or deteriorate, and is the most economical and flexible way to implement almost any complex function. In just about any field of engineering or science, more than half a typical professional's time is now spent in using, developing, enhancing, or maintaining software. By any measure, software is big business. To visualize the opportunities with software, consider the inverse: potential threats. Take manufacturing, for example. Suppose your leading competitor mastered a technology that cut manufacturing costs in half, eliminated distribution delays, and provided products that never wore out or deteriorated. If you did not quickly capitalize on that technology, you would almost certainly be in trouble. Conversely, think of the opportunities if your organization mastered this technology and your competitors did not. While software is precisely such a technology, few organizations see it as either an opportunity or a threat. The principal reason is that many executives don't think their organizations do much software work and, of those that do, few have enough software knowledge or experience to appreciate how it contributes to their business. Once they think the software problems are under control, they do their best to avoid the subject. A growing number of executives have found that software is a powerful business asset. However, these same executives have also found that moving into the modern world of engineered software requires an organizational transformation. What is more, they have discovered that they must personally lead this transformation. It is not a simple change and, like all changes, this transformation involves more than just telling people what to do. The best way to explain what is involved is to tell the story of how the methods described in this book were created. THE TRANSFORMATION JOURNEY During my 27 years with IBM, one of my jobs was director of programming. I supervised 4,000 software professionals in 15 laboratories and 7 countries. In four years, we took this organization from the brink of chaos to a sound, businesslike operation. The first step was to establish effective engineering and management practices and to require that these practices be followed. To ensure that these practices were understood, we sent 1,000 managers to a one-week training course. The results were extraordinary. This organization had never before delivered a product on time. Once the managers were all trained and following a disciplined planning and commitment process, the organization did not miss a single commitment for the next two and a half years. When I retired from IBM, in 1986, I looked at the software industry in general. It was obvious that software was a crucial technology, but it was also clear that the poor state of software engineering practice seriously c