Software Metrics: Best Practices for Successful IT Management

13.6 A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

What do I see as the important, pervasive and fundamental points that need to guide any measurement initiative? The easy answer is to point you towards the whole of Section Two but if I have to identify a small set of key points, bearing in mind that for particular circumstances others may join the list, I would choose the following:

• Avoid ivory towers, which means that you must know your internal market, identify your customers and listen to what they say so that you can identify their requirements together with the business benefits that they wish to realize.

• Software Metrics is a large topic and organizations are generally both large and complex. You cannot do everything at once so chunk it down into phases of activity.

• Provide solution packages, that is, procedures, training and support. All three are vital.

• Do not ignore the infrastructure. This does not just mean the fancy metrics database with all the bells and whistles which may be unnecessary at the beginning anyway. It does mean the organizational support mechanisms that facilitate or ease the use of metrics.

• Finally and very simply, treat the measurement initiative as a project in its own right.