Volume 6 • Number 2
METRICS
- The Uses and Abuses of Software Metrics (PDF, 158 KB)
This article discusses aspects of the use of metrics beyond the goal/question/metric paradigm. It suggests that ignoring data types and limitations, or using data analysis inappropriately, is common and leads to making incorrect decisions.
Pat Cross
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
- The Value of a Good Checklist (PDF, 207 KB)
Checklists are widely used in software development for a variety of purposes, such as measuring phase completion and readiness to proceed with work, guiding reviews of work, and ensuring adherence to procedures. The quality of a checklist, and thus its usefulness, often depends on how it was produced.
Dan Houston
METRICS
- Steer Clear of Hazards on the Road to Software Measurement Success (PDF, 177 KB) * OPEN ACCESS *
While a well-designed and planned measurement program can definitively illustrate the results of process improvement, a poorly planned measurement program can actually inflict damage—leaving an organization and its members
with volumes of data and unanticipated dysfunction.
Patricia A. McQuaid and Carol A. Dekkers
If you liked this article, subscribe now.
DEPARTMENTS
- Overview (PDF, 87 KB)
- From the Editor (PDF, 76 KB)
- Resource Reviews (PDF, 170 KB)
U.S./Canada