Background Information

Summary

Generating metrics is not really that difficult just look at the list presented herein. However, generating meaningful metrics that can be used in your organization is somewhat more complicated. Getting buy-in for the metrics effort will take some time and persuasion, and collecting and understanding the metrics will also present a challenge.

Do not give up; most process improvement books (the CMMI among them) do not expect you to get it right the first time. In fact, the one thing that you will find is that as you use the metrics, you will need to update them and make changes as your business needs change and as your staff becomes more knowledgeable.

Make sure you understand each metric selected for use, why it was selected, how it will be used, and how and when it will be collected. If not ask. Maybe someone who generated the metrics decided that because these numbers worked at his previous place of employment, they should work here. Or maybe the metrics were designed for some other department or type of work or level in the corporation that does not meet your needs.

There are many, many books on metrics, and metrics programs available. Although we make no recommendations, the ones our customers have used most frequently include:

• Measuring the Software Process , William Florac and Anita Carleton, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, 1999

• Practical Software Measurement , John McGarry, David Card, Cheryl Jones, Beth Layman, Elizabeth Clark, Joseph Dean, and Fred Hall, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, 2002

• Metrics and Models in Software Quality Engineering , Stephen Kan, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, 1995