14.3 HITCHING A RIDE

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Many organizations have introduced the concept of process improvement under some guise or other. Over the years the names and the emphasis of the basic models may have changed, although it is interesting to note, as someone who has been involved with such initiatives for many years, that the underlying concepts are still the same. Such programs invariably require a high degree of senior management commitment and oblige an organization to change its existing culture.

Measurement is a fundamental part of process improvement in any guise and such a program offers an ideal opportunity for the introduction of Software Metrics.

The key to using this approach successfully would seem to be the identification of short-term objectives that are achievable, and to then use the momentum generated during one phase to fuel the next. One of the big advantages of this linking strategy is that you can use the senior management commitment to the larger program to give authority by association to the metrics initiative, thus reducing the amount of effort needed to sell metrics. Do note that this effort requirement is never reduced to zero!

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