Chapter 8: Personal Software ProcessSM ROI Methodology

7.3 Inspection B/CR Methodology

The B/CR methodology for the Software Inspection Process is a procedure to measure, quantify, and analyze the ratio of benefits to costs. The ratio of benefits to costs for the Software Inspection Process is high because of reductions in software maintenance costs. B/CR is the economic magnitude of using the Software Inspection Process to create a new and improved software process. Its B/CR methodology is a two-part process that consists of estimating special costs and the benefit to cost ratio. Its benefit methodology consists of combining the benefits together with the special costs using a simple B/CR formula. Key elements include isolating the special, new, or additional costs and using the output of earlier total life cycle cost models. These are used to form an early picture of the economic value of the Software Inspection Process. Figure 28 illustrates the B/CR methodology for the Software Inspection Process.

Figure 28: Benefit/Cost Ratio Methodology for Software Inspection Process

Estimate special costs for inspection: The objective of this activity is to identify and separate the costs associated with the Software Inspection Process from common software development costs. This substep includes: add training and meeting costs for inspection.

Estimate benefit to cost ratio for inspection: The objective of this activity is to measure the magnitude of the benefits to the costs for implementing the Software Inspection Process. This substep includes: divide benefits by special costs for inspection.