TIM: a tool insertion method

Software tools play an important role in the software development process. Some tools are used by users taking on one specific role, in very specific activities and to process documents of a specific type (e.g., a compiler). Other tools are used by users in multiple roles, during many activities and for processing documents of multiple types (e.g., a configuration management system). Inserting a tool of the latter type into a process may have a significant impact on the development process. In order to control the insertion of such tools it is desirable to use a tool insertion method. Today, no such method exists. We propose such a method called “Tool Insertion Method (TIM)”. The key elements of TIM are a method for customizing the tool to fit the organization’s development process and a comprehensive measurements program that is used to quantify the goal of inserting a tool, tracking the progress of tool insertion and analyzing cost and benefit of the tool insertion. We also briefly describe how TIM was used to improve the process in an industrial software project. The projects’s requirements planning process was re-engineered, and a commercially available tool was customized to support the improved process. This process spans multiple activities, operates on artifacts of several types and is carried out by multiple developers taking on different roles. The paper offers a formal model of TIM along with sample data gathered and experience gained during its application.