Why Don't They Practice What We Preach? Why Don't They Practice What We Preach?

One of the most intractable problems in software is getting engineers to consistently use effective methods. The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) has worked on this problem for a number of years and has developed effective methods for addressing it. This paper describes these methods and shows what they have accomplished with several hundred students and working engineers. After first describing the problem of changing engineers ' practices, the paper discusses the logic engineers typically follow in deciding what methods to use. Next is a description of the Personal Software ProcessSM (PSPSM) and the Team Software ProcessSM(TSPSM). Finally, the implications of SEI's experiences with the PSP and TSP are described, with particular emphasis on software engineering and computer science education