September 4th, 2008 chris
Software metrics can be classified into three categories: product metrics, process metrics, and project metrics. Product metrics describe the characteristics of the product such as size, complexity, design features, performance, and quality level. Process metrics can be used to improve software development and maintenance. Examples include the effectiveness of defect removal during development, the pattern of testing defect arrival, and the response time of the fix process. Project metrics describe the project characteristics and execution. Examples include the number of software developers, the staffing pattern over the life cycle of the software, cost, schedule, and productivity. Some metrics belong to multiple categories. For example, the in-process quality metrics of a project are both process metrics and project metrics.
Posted in Software Metrics
September 4th, 2008 chris
In software, the narrowest sense of product quality is commonly recognized as lack of “bugs” in the product. It is also the most basic meaning of conformance to requirements, because if the software contains too many functional defects, the basic requirement of providing the desired function is not met. This definition is usually expressed in two ways: defect rate (e.g., number of defects per million lines of source code, per function point, or other unit) and reliability (e.g., number of failures per n hours of operation, mean time to failure, or the probability of failure-free operation in a specified time). Customer satisfaction is usually measured by percent satisfied or nonsatisfied (neutral and dissatisfied) from customer satisfaction surveys. To reduce bias, techniques such as blind surveys (the interviewer does not know the customer and the customer does not know the company the interviewer represents) are usually used. In addition to overall customer satisfaction with the software product, satisfaction toward specific attributes is also gauged. For instance, IBM monitors satisfaction with its software products in levels of CUPRIMDSO (capability [functionality], usability, performance, reliability, installability, maintainability, documentation/information, service, and overall). Hewlett-Packard focuses on FURPS (functionality, usability, reliability, performance, and serviceability). Other companies use similar dimensions of software customer satisfaction. Juran calls such attributes quality parameters, or parameters for fitness for use.
Posted in Software Metrics