Download Analysis and Applications of Personal Task Executive Model in Software Development

ORIENT ACADEMIC FORUM
Analysis and Applications of Personal Task Executive Model in
Software Development
LIU Yu1, XU Aifeng2
1. Road and municipal information center of Tianjing, China, 300050
2. Surveying and Mapping Institute of Tianjing, China, 300381
[email protected]
Abstract: To deal with the problems in the management of personal development software engineering,
especially the lack of standardization in personal task execution, we proposed an integrated personal
task executive model based on our experiments. Two project teams were tracked and recorded based on
comparison method through the personal task tracking table, which was generated using our proposed
model. We further carried out continuous recording and statistical analysis of 9 software engineers with
20 tasks, the results showed that the efficiency and succuss rate were significantly improved under the
guidance of the our model.
Keywords: personal, task executive model, tracking table, processing management
1
Introduction
Since the 80th of last century, with the appearance of high failure rate within software project caused by
the scale expansion of software engineering, software experts, represented by Watts S. Humphrey in the
United States, started researches on the processing management of software project. They studied
regularly upon the software development procedure so as to improve the software products development
steadily[1][2][3][4]. Based on his experiments, Watts S. Humphrey put forward an improvement
methodology of procedure management using personal, team as well as organization levels, in according
with the PSP, TSP, and CMMI theories, which was valued and further studied domestically. However,
based on our knowledge of many domestic software companies, the processing management are still at
low level[2]. Especially for the basic level of personal procedure management, which is based on
personal experiment yet instead of systematically training and improvement. As a team member, a
software developer faced a next task everyday under Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), and the
accomplishment of these tasks in time and satisfactorily would directly affect the progress of the entire
project, even the further implement of the project [2].
Therefore, inspired by the pattern and application of the task execution, we found its particular
discipline and applied it into practical applications through the continuous tracking of 2 project team in
half a year.
2
Executive Model Analysis
Internal and external interference source
Task acceptance
Task implementation
Task accomplishment
Intermediate feedback
Task source
Final feedback
Figure 1. Personal task executive model
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①
②
2.1 Model restriction
Only aim at software development
Only deal with personal task
①
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④
⑤
2.2 Model node
Task source: could be project manager, client, or even the developer himself, generally a person who
is required to finish a specified task in accordance with certain progress, quality and expense
Task acceptance: indicate personal ratification of the task, and start it based on the planned date.
Task implementation: put into effect of the project task formally, and in the working process
Task accomplishment: present the task is done, and could put in the outcome.
Internal and external interference source: from the standpoint of communication. Internal: with
positive personal communication, there should be promotion effects; vice versa. External: with positive
encourage and remind, there will be promotion effects.
Intermediate feedback: certain intermediate communication and feedback are required in the software
development process.
Final feedback: stands for submit outcome to “Task source”, and get positive feedback, then task is
finally done.
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2.3 Model procedure
The regular task implementation workflow is as: obtain task information from “task sources”, “task
acceptance”, “task implementation”, “task accomplishment”, and feedback to “task sources”. Normally,
it should also include problem feedback, reconfirmation (intermediate feedback), as well as “internal
and external inference” to tasks, which is a loop.
In the software project, personal tasks not only include the commencement (task acceptance),
implementation (task process), accomplishment (task fulfilled), but also the inference factors and
feedbacks, which is determined by the complexity of the software engineering [4]. Persons without
training would has less comprehending of the task steps and further lead to the unsatisfactory of the
“task sources” as well as project procedure management out of control.
3
Model Testing
To verify the efficiency and rationality of our personal task executive model, we tracked and recorded
the task implementation of two project teams in half a year. The tracking table is given as:
time span
project team
20100302
-04 04
A: Jie Gao
（ ）
Table1. Task tacking table
loop or communicati
not
on or not
Write research yes
not
programs
about
emergency
plan
content
result
evaluation
Short of the
requiremen
ts with the
task
Need
communication
among at least
once
…
①
3.1 Tracking table design principal
Key points representing the personal task executive model. “time span” recorded the dates of task
commencement and accomplishment; “content” indicates the “task implementation”; “loop or not”
represents that whether the task is done; “communication or not” reflects the “feedback” elements;
“result” indicates whether the obtained “conclusion” has reflected the “task sources”; “evaluation” is the
problem sources (internal and external inference sources). The integration of the above fields indicates a
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whole record of a task procedure whether it is a loop or not. “project team” is the track object, which is
utilized to propose solutions on account of the problems.
Tasks should be comparable, statistic and easy to find out problems. Find out whether the task has
been accomplished timely, if not,what the problems are, and whether positive communication has made
contribution to the fulfilling of the task.
Keep tracking objects unknown. Ensure the data collection be real and reliable, and the whole process
be confidential to tracking object, without interference to its normal work.
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3.2 Methodology
We utilized the tracking method here to testify the “communication effects”. As the principal for two
project, we did not inference the first team, while provide early warning to the second group. It means
the 1st group will generate results based on the personal executive without inferences; while the 2nd
would be reminded or early warned when a task is due or there is any other problems. The effects of
inferences manually can be discovered by comparing the above two datasets.
3.3 Tracking results
Number of people
of group A
Number of people
of group B
Time
span
of
tracking
Without prejudice
to group A
Task
accomplishment
statistics of group A
：
Table 2. Tracking results analysis
Number of tracked
tasks of group A
5
Number of tracked
tasks of group B
March 2 to August 16,2010
4
：
With prejudice to group B
Recorder
Times of on-time completion :5
Task accomplishment
statistics of group B
Times
of
qualitative
completion :4
Number of communication
interfered tasks: 5
On-time completion rate: 62.6%
Qualitative completion rate:50%
Communication rate:62.6%
8
12
Yu Liu
Times
of
on-time
completion :8
Times
of
qualitative
completion :12
Number of communication
interfered tasks:12
On-time completion rate:
66.7%
Qualitative
completion
rate:100%
Communication rate:100%
The upper half table represents the quantitative accumulation of the record contents in the tracking table;
while the bottom half mainly reflects the comparative analysis of the accumulative data in percentage.
The results illustrate that:
On-time completion rate: the difference between groups A and B is not apparent. It illustrates that
there is also communication within group A, as the communication inference factors has also proved this.
Besides, other factors influence the completion rate significantly, such as the inaccurate estimation of
the planned work load. The improvement of this percentage is large relied on the reinforcement of
personal PSP training and practice.
Qualitative completion rate: the gap is large between A and B groups. It indicates that the completion
rate of group A is tremendous low without reliable confirmation of “task sources”; while the quality of
group B is guaranteed due to the active alert and communication from the “task sources”.
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③Communication
rate: group A differs significantly from B, and the variance rate is
100%-62.6%=37.4%, which is largely because there is less positive inference from the “task sources”.
It can be summarized from
and
that their common affection factor is the positive inference and
communication from the “task sources”, which means there is great affection from communication to
the qualitative accomplishment of the tasks. Positive communication would improve the success rate of
the project, while the rate would be greatly reduced without positive communications. Besides, we can
see from Table 2 that personal executive model structure is suitable for the personal task process
management and quality tracking requirement. Field data can also be acquired so as to improve the
personal and team process management, or even can be utilized as reference data for the evaluation of
personal process management by the organization level.
4
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Applications in Procedure Management
4.1 Personal procedure management training
Before the setting up of the team, the project manager must train the team member first, where the
personal task executive model also should be included. Since the deficiency of execution would usually
happen in the task implementation when a developer is not trained with the related knowledge. After
received the requirement specification, it is risky not to communicate with relevant persons and
reconfirm in the software development process. It is also ridiculous not to hand over the outcome to
relevant person when the task is accomplished as well as alter the plan discretionarily depending on
personal assumption. This kind of software developing problems caused by personal issues can be
ideally solved using training and reinforcement. The training testing on group B has validated our point.
4.2 Team management
A skilled project manager should monitor the personal task development processing in the team
development management. Besides, he also is required to find the problems within the development and
solve them in time, where the communication is extraordinarily important. Table 1 is employed to record
the development stage of team member in order to manage each member’s personal task efficiently. It is
necessary to communicate timely in the problem finding procedure. As the principal manager of the
project, we found that the positive affection and management of B group has validated our proposed
method.
4.3 Organization management
In fact, the tracking data under this model is also beneficial for the organizational level, as the tracking
record referred to every single developer. First of all, comprehensive evaluation can be carried out on
the development quality of each member via quality management department. And Quantitative
assessment can also be implemented according to the technique ability and contribution via performance
evaluation department. And finally, the psychological characteristics of each developer can be
discovered via human resource department so as to prevent personnel crisis and evaluate the quality of
talent.
5
Conclusion
In this paper, a personal executive model is proposed by summarizing the disciplines within the personal
executive process of software engineering comprehensively, and further tested in the practical project
using local data through recording and tracking. Without large number of samples in our experiment, we
only tracked 9 software engineers with 20 tasks in 2 team systematically. However, as a supplementary
method for the improvement of personal task process management, our approach is easier to use and
much more efficient.
If the model knowledge is integrated through the process management tools, the efficiency and effect
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will be improved significantly.
References
[1]. Watts S. Humphrey. A Discipline for Software Engineering, Addison-Wesley Professional,
1995:1 19
[2]. Watts S. Humphrey. Introduction to the Personal Software Process, Addison-Wesley
Professional,1996 :1 6
[3]. Watts S. Humphrey. TSP-Leading a Development Team, Addison-Wesley Professional, 2005:1
2,34
[4]. Zhi Jin, Lin Liu, and Ying Jin. Software requirement project: principals and methods, Beijing:
Science Press, 2008: 2~6. (in Chinese)
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