Metrics-Driven Enterprise Software Development : Effectively Meeting Evolving Business Needs

Almost every engineering discipline other than software has clear guidelines for measuring processes and products and making decisions based on quantified evidence. Although metrics are seen as powerful tools for understanding and gauging software development, they are usually employed ad-hoc and without clear directions for interpreting the numbers and acting on them. Software development processes are not often followed in spirit due to difficulties in evaluating their benefits and tracking compliance. This results in software that does meet user needs.

This practical book crosses the divide between theory and practice and discusses why essential processes so often fail to deliver quality industrial software. It describes how to integrate processes and metrics to ensure easier and more effective enterprise software development. Metrics-Driven Enterprise Software Development introduces the techniques for building, applying and interpreting metrics for the workflows across the software development life cycle phases of inception, elaboration, construction and transition. This metrics-driven approach guides practitioners at every step of the lifecycle and helps them analyze, design, implement, test and deploy solutions with greater confidence, purpose, and sensitivity to evolving business needs. Effective use of metrics is a key skill for all those involved in next generation software projects.
 

Introduces the vision of a metrics-oriented process culture where every software engineering practitioner discerns his or her responsibilities in the light of simple and effective measurement principles and tools.

Presents insights and strategies for formulating metrics in software development activities and clarifies them in the context of iterative and incremental development methodologies.

Provides techniques for building, applying and interpreting metrics for the workflows across the software development life cycle phases of inception, elaboration, construction and transition.

Highlights rigor vs. expediency trade-offs in the design and use of metrics and suggests discovery vs. invention strategies for leveraging the correct metric.

Explores the skills and intuition needed for conceiving and constructing software development life cycle metrics for your individual project and for building and deploying metrics for specific scenarios.

Includes a case study to facilitate greater understanding of the concepts, processes and strategies presented and to illustrate their practical application.
 

Chapter 1 : Introduction
Chapter 2 : Schmoozing with the Ideas
Chapter 3 : Software Engineering and Metrics
Chapter 4 : Key Themes in Software Measurements
Chapter 5 : Taking Your Project the Metrics Way
Chapter 6 : Iterative and Incremental Development: A Brief Background
Chapter 7 : Requirements: The Drivers of Software Development
Chapter 8 : Analysis and Design: On Understanding, Deciding, and Measuring
Chapter 9 : Implementation: It Takes Some Doing
Chapter 10 : Testing: Hunt for a Software Litmus
Chapter 11 : Putting it All Together
Chapter 12 : The Plot Thickens
Chapter 13 : Getting into the Groove
Chapter 14 : Diving at the Deep End
Chapter 15 : Building Time
Chapter 16 : Feel of the World Epilogue

Index