TSPi Support Tools document (pdf) - Carnegie Mellon University

1.1. Teaching a TSPi Course
The TSPi course objective is to teach engineers how to conduct a team software project. It shows
them how to work on a team and how to follow a disciplined process. Although producing a
working program is an important course objective, the program produced by the team is a means
to an end. It provides the team¹s focus and is concrete evidence that the team completed the
project. The principal goal, however, is to ensure that the teams properly use the TSPi process.
To get the students to use the process, you must emphasize the importance of following every
step, gathering all the data, and completing all the required forms. If the students do not follow
the process, their grades must suffer, and you should tell them this in advance. Also emphasize
that you will periodically look at their work to ensure that they are following the process.
Software development is a complex process, and if they do not faithfully follow the TSPi while
they do their work, they will be unable to fake it after the fact.
Make sure that the students know the course priorities: process fidelity, cooperative and
supportive teamwork, and the product. If they do not follow the process and gather and report all
the process data, they will not get a good grade, regardless of the quality of the product they
produce. After they complete the course, students should believe that the process helps and that it
helps them the most when they are under schedule pressure.
Contents List of Forms Tool Instructions
Copyright 2000 Addison Wesley Longman, Inc. All rights reserved
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