Most software‎-development groups have embarrassing records‎:‎ by some accounts‎,‎ more than half of all software projects are significantly late and over budget‎,‎ and nearly a quarter of them are cancelled without ever being completed‎.‎ Although developers recognize that unrealistic schedules‎,‎ inadequate resources‎,‎ and unstable requirements are often to blame for such failures‎,‎ few know how to solve these problems‎.‎ Fortunately‎,‎ the personal software process ‎(‎psp‎)‎ provides a clear and proven solution‎.‎ Comprising precise methods developed over many years by watts s‎.‎ Humphrey and the software engineering institute ‎(‎sei‎)‎‎,‎ the psp has successfully transformed work practices in a wide range of organizations and has already produced some striking results‎.‎ This book describes the psp and is the definitive guide and reference for its latest iteration‎.‎ Psp training focuses on the skills required by individual software engineers to improve their personal performance‎.‎ Once learned and effectively applied‎,‎ psp‎-trained engineers are qualified to participate on a team using the team software process ‎(‎tsp‎)‎‎,‎ the methods for which are described in the final chapter of the book‎.‎ The goal for both psp and tsp is to give developers exactly what they need to deliver quality products on predictable schedules‎.‎ Pspsm‎:‎ a self‎-improvement process for software engineers presents a disciplined process for software engineers and anyone else involved in software development‎.‎ This process includes defect management‎,‎ comprehensive planning‎,‎ and precise project tracking and reporting‎.‎ The book first scales down industrial software practices to fit the needs of the module‎-sized program development‎,‎ then walks readers through a progressive sequence of practices that provide a sound foundation for large‎-scale software development‎.‎ By doing the exercises in the book‎,‎ and using the psp methods described here to plan‎,‎ evaluate‎,‎ manage‎,‎ and control the quality of your own work‎,‎ you will be well prepared to apply those methods on ever larger and more critical projects‎.‎ Drawing on the author‎'‎s extensive experience helping organizations to achieve their development goals‎,‎ and with the psp benefits well illustrated‎,‎ the book presents the process in carefully crafted steps‎.‎ The first chapter describes overall principles and strategies‎.‎ The next two explain how to follow a defined process‎,‎ as well as how to gather and use the data required to manage a programming job‎.‎ Several chapters then cover estimating and planning‎,‎ followed by quality management and design‎.‎ The last two chapters show how to put the psp to work‎,‎ and how to use it on a team project‎.‎ A variety of support materials for the book‎,‎ as described in the preface‎,‎ are available on the web‎.‎ If you or your organization are looking for a way to improve your project success rate‎,‎ the psp could well be your answer‎.‎