Measuring Developers: Aligning Perspectives and Other Best Practices

The paper discusses the software metrics programs. Software metrics programs might rank among the all-time touchiest subjects in software development. Done well, a measurement program can prove an effective tool for keeping on top of development effort-especially for large, distributed projects. It can help developers feel that they have a fair and objective way of communicating their progress and getting resources allocated where they´re needed most. An effective metrics program must address both products and processes. Product-related metrics can be tied to customer satisfaction. They often represent objectively verifiable properties such as the number of bugs or defects found in a product. Process metrics, include measures of effort and effectiveness and can give quick feedback about the status of defect containment, productivity, and other desirable properties at many points during development. However, instituting these metrics poses different challenges that the authors discussed and developed some best practice solutions. These include design measures with multiple stakeholders, build on measures that come naturally out of existing processes, and transparency.