PART I: FUNDAMENTALS OF MEASUREMENT AND EXPERIMENTATION 1. Measurement: What Is It and Why Do It? 2. The Basics of Measurement 3. A Goal-Based Framework for Software Measurement 4. Empirical Investigation 5. Software Metrics Data Collection 6. Analyzing Software-Measurement Data PART II: SOFTWARE-ENGINEERING MEASUREMENT 7. Measuring Internal Product Attributes: Size 8. Measuring Internal Product Attributes: Structure 9. Measuring Internal Product Attributes 10. Software Reliability: Measurement and Prediction 11. Resource Measurement: Productivity, Teams, and Tools 12. Making Process Predictions PART III: MEASUREMENT AND MANAGEMENT 13. Planning a Measurement Program 14. Measurement in Practice 15. Empirical Research in Software Engineering APPENDIXES: A. Solutions to Selected Exercises / B. Metric Tools / C. Acronyms and Glossary / ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY / INDEX
"While it is usually helpful to launch improvement programs, many such programs soon get bogged down in detail. They either address the wrong problems, or they keep beating on the same solutions, wondering why things don't improve. This is when you need an objective way to look at the problems. This is the time to get some data." Watts S. Humphrey, from the Foreword This book, drawing on work done at the Software Engineering Institute and other organizations, shows how to use measurements to manage and improve software processes. The authors explain specifically how quality characteristics of software products and processes can be quantified, plotted, and analyzed so the performance of software development activities can be predicted, controlled, and guided to achieve both business and technical goals. The measurement methods presented, based on the principles of statistical quality control, are illuminated by application examples taken from industry. Although many of the methods discussed are applicable to individual projects, the book's primary focus is on the steps software development organizations can take toward broad-reaching, long-term success. The book particularly addresses the needs of software managers and practitioners who have already set up some kind of basic measurement process and are ready to take the next step by collecting and analyzing software data as a basis for making process decisions and predicting process performance. Highlights of the book include: Insight into developing a clear framework for measuring process behavior Discussions of process performance, stability, compliance, capability, and improvement Explanations of what you want to measure (and why) and instructions on how to collect your data Step-by-step guidance on how to get started using statistical process control If you have responsibilities for product quality or process performance and you are ready to use measurements to manage, control, and predict your software processes, this book will be an invaluable resource.
This book seeks to promote the structured, standardized and accurate use of software measurement at all levels of modern software development companies. To do so, it focuses on seven main aspects: sound scientific foundations, cost-efficiency, standardization, value-maximization, flexibility, combining organizational and technical aspects, and seamless technology integration. Further, it supports companies in their journey from manual reporting to automated decision support by combining academic research and industrial practice. When scientists and engineers measure something, they tend to focus on two different things. Scientists focus on the ability of the measurement to quantify whatever is being measured; engineers, however, focus on finding the right qualities of measurement given the designed system (e.g. correctness), the system’s quality of use (e.g. ease of use), and the efficiency of the measurement process. In this book, the authors argue that both focuses are necessary, and that the two are complementary. Thus, the book is organized as a gradual progression from theories of measurement (yes, you need theories to be successful!) to practical, organizational aspects of maintaining measurement systems (yes, you need the practical side to understand how to be successful). The authors of this book come from academia and industry, where they worked together for the past twelve years. They have worked with both small and large software development organizations, as researchers and as measurement engineers, measurement program leaders and even teachers. They wrote this book to help readers define, implement, deploy and maintain company-wide measurement programs, which consist of a set of measures, indicators and roles that are built around the concept of measurement systems. Based on their experiences introducing over 40,000 measurement systems at over a dozen companies, they share essential tips and tricks on how to do it right and how to avoid common pitfalls.
Summary Software Development Metrics is a handbook for anyone who needs to track and guide software development and delivery at the team level, such as project managers and team leads. New development practices, including "agile" methodologies like Scrum, have redefined which measurements are most meaningful and under what conditions you can benefit from them. This practical book identifies key characteristics of organizational structure, process models, and development methods so that you can select the appropriate metrics for your team. It describes the uses, mechanics, and common abuses of a number of metrics that are useful for steering and for monitoring process improvement. The insights and techniques in this book are based entirely on field experience. Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications. About the Book When driving a car, you are less likely to speed, run out of gas, or suffer engine failure because of the measurements the car reports to you about its condition. Development teams, too, are less likely to fail if they are measuring the parameters that matter to the success of their projects. This book shows you how. Software Development Metrics teaches you how to gather, analyze, and effectively use the metrics that define your organizational structure, process models, and development methods. The insights and examples in this book are based entirely on field experience. You'll learn practical techniques like building tools to track key metrics and developing data-based early warning systems. Along the way, you'll learn which metrics align with different development practices, including traditional and adaptive methods. No formal experience with developing or applying metrics is assumed. What's Inside Identify the most valuable metrics for your team and process Differentiate "improvement" from "change" Learn to interpret and apply the data you gather Common pitfalls and anti-patterns About the Author Dave Nicolette is an organizational transformation consultant, team coach, and trainer. Dave is active in the agile and lean software communities. Table of Contents Making metrics useful Metrics for steering Metrics for improvement Putting the metrics to work Planning predictability Reporting outward and upward
""This is the single best book on software quality engineering and metrics that I've encountered."" --Capers Jones, from the Foreword"Metrics and Models in Software Quality Engineering, Second Edition," is the definitive book on this essential topic of software development. Comprehensive in scope with extensive industry examples, it shows how to measure software quality and use measurements to improve the software development process. Four major categories of quality metrics and models are addressed: quality management, software reliability and projection, complexity, and customer view. In addition, the book discusses the fundamentals of measurement theory, specific quality metrics and tools, and methods for applying metrics to the software development process.New chapters bring coverage of critical topics, including: In-process metrics for software testingMetrics for object-oriented software developmentAvailability metricsMethods for conducting in-process quality assessments and software project assessmentsDos and Don'ts of Software Process Improvement, by Patrick O'TooleUsing Function Point Metrics to Measure Software Process Improvement, by Capers Jones In addition to the excellent balance of theory, techniques, and examples, this book is highly instructive and practical, covering one of the most important topics in software development--quality engineering. 0201729156B08282002
The second edition of this classic work in the field of software metrics has been fully updated to reflect the major changes brought about by new technologies
In this comprehensive introduction to software measurement, Ebert and Dumke detail knowledge and experiences about the subject in an easily understood, hands-on presentation. The book describes software measurement in theory and practice as well as provides guidance to all relevant measurement tools and online references. In addition, it presents hands-on experience from industry leaders and provides many examples and case studies from Global 100 companies. Besides the many practical hints and checklists, readers will also appreciate the large reference list, which includes links to metrics communities where project experiences are shared.
This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-proceedings of the International Workshop on Software Measurement, IWSM-Mensura 2007, held in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, in November 2007. The 16 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in the book. The papers deal with aspects of software measurement like function-points measurement, effort and cost estimates, prediction, industrial experiences in software measurement, planning and implementing measurement, measurement-based software process improvement, best practices in software measurement, usability and user interaction measurement, measurement of open source projects, teaching and learning software measurement as well as new trends and ontologies for software measurement.
The product of many years of practical experience and research in the software measurement business, this technical reference helps you select what metrics to collect, how to convert measurement data to management information, and provides the statistics necessary to perform these conversions. The author explains how to manage software development
