Software Process And Product Measurement

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.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of two joint events - the International Workshop on Software Measurement, IWSM 2009 and the International Conference on Software Process and Product Measurement, Mensura 2009, held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in November 2009. The 24 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions for inclusion in the book. This book considers issues such as the applicability of measures and metrics to software, the efficiency of measurement programs in industry and the theoretical foundations of software engineering.

"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.

Annotation 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 author explains what is meant by software measurement and how to decide what to measure; how to use measurement to support different aspects of a process improvement programme; how to set quantitative goals using a pragmatic approach to the Goal-Question-Metric paradigm; how to set up a metrication programme and design a data collection system; and how to analyse the software data collected.

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.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of three joint events - the International Workshop on Software Measurement, IWSM 2008, the DASMA Metrik Kongress, Metrikon 2008, and the International Conference on Software Process and Product Measurement, Mensura 2008, held in Munich, Germany, in November 2008. The 30 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from over 50 submissions for inclusion in the book. The papers are organized in topical sections on estimation models, measurement methodology, effort estimation, measurement programs, new approaches, prozessbewertung, size measurement, education, measurement in software lifecycle, and product measurement.