Practical Software Measurement: Measuring for Process Management and Improvement

This guidebook shows how well-established principles and methods for evaluating and controlling process performance can be applied in software settings to help achieve an organization’s business and technical goals. Although the concepts that are illustrated are often applicable to individual projects, the primary focus is on the enduring issues that enable organizations to improve not just today’s performance, but the long-term success and profitability of their business and technical endeavors. 1 The Role of Measurement in Process Management The central problem of management in all its aspects, including planning, procurement, manufacturing, research, sales, personnel, accounting, and law, is to understand better the meaning of variation, and to extract the information contained in variation. Lloyd S. Nelson, as quoted by Deming [Deming 86a] Every organization asks the question, “Are we achieving the results we desire?” This gets couched in many ways, such as, “Are we meeting our business objectives? Are our customers satisfied with our product and services? Are we earning a fair return on our investment? Can we reduce the cost of producing the product or service? How can we improve the response to our customers’ needs or increase the functionality of our products? How can we improve our competitive position? Are we achieving the growth required for survival?” The answers to questions like these are rooted in an organization’s basic makeup, its overall philosophy, its people, its management, and the facilities and operational processes used by the organization to deliver its products or services. It is the operational processes that concern us in this guidebook.