Customer Reviews

TSP: Leading a Development Team (The SEI Series in Software Engineering)

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TSP is a sequel to Humphrey's earlier book, PSP. That text concentrated on the actions of a single programmer or designer. Now in TSP, Humphrey expands the scope, to discuss what it means to lead and motivate a team of programmers. The acronym TSP stands for Team Software Process. But a close reading of the text suggests that you do not have to take "Software" literally. Your team might be a bunch of engineers or architects or financial analysts.

Though, to be sure, the examples in the text and several of the guidelines pertain explicitly to code development. Yet if you are a flexible enough manager and team leader, you might be able to generalise those guidelines to your situation.

Humphrey makes several remarks that some readers might cheer. He suggests that knowledge of specific tools and methods, while useful, is secondary to amassing an experienced and capable team. If you can do this, then they will surely be able to quickly pick up expertise in those tools or methods. If you have looked at job postings, you have undoubtedly come across those with a laundry list of detailed required skills. Some of which are mundane and low level. But try convincing that company's HR department of this!

On the subject of team building, he dumps on commercial team building exercises. You know. Where some consulting firm charges your company a huge amount for taking your team to an offsite location for a day of artificial exercises. While these may indeed build some espirit de corps, typically these is no relation to the actual work environment and real issues facing your team. But because team building is such an intangible thing, and impossible to quantify, the team wastes a day and the consulting firm makes money.

These two examples are actually minor parts of the text. But they really struck me (and perhaps you) as being very cogent analysis. Somewhat cynical maybe, but Humphrey has his wits about him.

Excelente obra que nos muestra la forma en como sacar provecho de los equipos de trabajo en el desarrollo de proyectos de software. Felicito al Sr. Watts. S. Humprey por su visión en el tema.