Adopting GQM-Based Measurement in an Industrial Environment

lthough software engineers generally agree that software measurement must be goal oriented, little has been published on the results of shifting to goal-orientation and still less on how to systematically make that transition. Thus, when we at Schlumberger RPS decided to adopt the Goal/Question/Metric approach, we resolved to document each step and record our experiences at each stage of the transition.This article is both a summary of our experiences and a brief description of how the GQM approach has greatly improved our measurement programs. We have tried to describe the activities in our measurement programs in a way that will help more organizations shift to goal-oriented measurement. We hope that others will also document their efforts so that the software engineering community can better understand the benefits of the GQM approach. A Schlumberger RPS integrated the Goa l/Quest ion/Metr i c approach into the i r ex i s t ing measurement programs to improve the i r p rogram per formance. Key to the i r success was the use o f feedback sess ions as a fo rum to ana lyze and interpret measurement data .