A Framework for Software Development Excellence

May, 2020

Abstract:

We describe a broad and unifying framework of the most important traits, principles, and practice areas supporting the achievement of software development excellence. For software development excellence, we broadly emphasize both the definition of a product that effectively meets stakeholder needs (“building the right product”), and designing and constructing an effective and reliable solution for satisfying those needs (“building the product right”). One objective of the framework is to help unify different software communities, such as the Agile community and the Team Software Process community, who have independently developed approaches that have both much in common and also some important differences. Another objective is to provide guidance to help organizations identify gaps in their current practice and develop a roadmap for improvement. We stress the importance of commitment, participation, preparation, simplicity, iteration, continuous feedback, regular adjustment, objectivity, openness, communication, direct interaction, and continuous improvement. We outline the most important practice areas of product management, technical excellence, quality management, teamwork, project management, and process management.

About the Presenter 

Darryl L. Davis is the Principal and founder of Davis Systems, an improvement consulting firm that helps develop agile high-performance software teams. He is a former SEI Certified TSP Mentor Coach and a former SEI Authorized PSP-TSP Instructor. He served as an SEI Authorized Capability Maturity Model Integration Instructor and for 13 years as an SEI Authorized Lead Appraiser. He is a Project Management Institute Certified Project Management Professional, and a scrum.org certified Professional Scrum Master and Professional Scrum Product Owner. Prior to founding Davis Systems in 1993, he was a Senior Technical Manager at Intergraph Corporation. At Intergraph and at Chrysler Corporation, he developed software ranging from commercial desktop computer-aided engineering tools to custom real-time embedded systems. He holds a Master’s degree in computer science from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and a Bachelor of Computer Engineering degree from Auburn University. He is a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and its Computer Society, a member of the Project Management Institute, and a Senior Member of the American Society for Quality.

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