What Makes Measuring Software So Hard?

41 address those needs—thereby making measurement more appealing. While the disparity discussed here involves measurement, it applies to all areas of software process improvement. For example, the Software Engineering Institute's Capability Maturity Model for Software is silent on two of the three strategies of high-performing organizations—customer intimacy and product innovation. Like traditional measurement , the Capability Maturity Model applies only to organizations wanting to be operationally excellent. How top organizations do it Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema, in The Discipline of Market Leaders, conducted a survey of 80 top organizations to find out how they out-achieved their competitors. 1 Their survey revealed that these companies needed to focus on only one of three market disciplines—operational excellence , customer intimacy, or product in-novativeness—to succeed. Operationally excellent organizations have a formula for their service or product. They offer a small and limited menu of choices, but they deliver excellently and at a competitive price. McDonald's and Federal Express focus on operational excellence. Customer-intimate organizations seek a different market niche—a total solution. 2 Whatever the customer wants they add to the menu. These organizations offer a long, custom-made menu for each engagement. Some financial-service institutions might call customer intimacy a way of getting a greater share of the customer's wallet, offering spending alternatives ranging from investment opportunities to travel services. Product-innovative organizations pride themselves on maximizing the number of Implementing software measurement can be difficult if an organization's market strategy fails to align with traditional measurements. The author points out the need to understand an organization's strategic objectives and then tailor its measurement practices to fit. W e often hear that it is difficult to get software measurement into practice. Traditional measurement addresses the decisions that support increased quality, increased programmer productivity , and reduced costs—key elements for organizations strategically focused on operational excellence. But what if the organization's highest priority isn't operational excellence? This article shows that such organizations have different measurement needs and presents ideas on how to