Schedules are so 20th Century! Leveraging the TSP℠ and Agile Disconnect

October, 2020

The October 2020 Tech Talk was presented by David R. Webb.

Abstract:

The Team Software Process℠ (TSP℠) and Scrum are similar in so many ways. They are both dedicated to delivering value to the customer, using historical data for planning, developing iteratively, building in quality, practicing continuous process improvement, and much more. Despite these similarities, the TSP concentrates intently on schedule performance, with tools, measures, and practices laser-focused on creating and meeting a defined schedule. On the other hand, Scrum considers schedule prediction to be a waste of valuable time that could be spent delivering value.

This presentation will explore why this fundamental disconnect exists, when to focus on schedule, and (just as importantly) when not to. The presentation will conclude with recommendations on employing Scrum techniques for TSP teams as well as TSP methods that can help out with Scrum projects.

About the Presenter

David R. Webb is a Senior Operations Program Analyst at Kihomac, Inc. He is currently working as an Agile coach to improve the engineering processes of the A-10 Operational Flight Program team in the 309th Software Engineering Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Prior to this assignment, Dave worked as a government project management and process improvement specialist with 309 SWEG. He has over 33 years of technical, program management, and process improvement experience on Air Force software. Dave is a certified Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Agilist. Previously, he was authorized by the Software Engineering Institute as an instructor for the Personal Software Process, as well as a Team Software Process coach. He has worked as an Air Force manager, SEPG member, systems software engineer and test engineer. He is a frequent contributor to technical journals and symposiums, and he holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Brigham Young University.

℠ Personal Software Process, PSP, Team Software Process, and TSP are service marks of Carnegie Mellon University. The Software Excellence Alliance is not affiliated with Carnegie Mellon University.

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