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Software Development Metrics
Summary
Software Development Metrics is a handbook for anyone who needs to track and guide software development and delivery at the team level, such as project managers and team leads. New development practices, including "agile" methodologies like Scrum, have redefined which measurements are most meaningful and under what conditions you can benefit from them. This practical book identifies key characteristics of organizational structure, process models, and development methods so that you can select the appropriate metrics for your team. It describes the uses, mechanics, and common abuses of a number of metrics that are useful for steering and for monitoring process improvement. The insights and techniques in this book are based entirely on field experience.
Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications.
About the Book
When driving a car, you are less likely to speed, run out of gas, or suffer engine failure because of the measurements the car reports to you about its condition. Development teams, too, are less likely to fail if they are measuring the parameters that matter to the success of their projects. This book shows you how.
Software Development Metrics teaches you how to gather, analyze, and effectively use the metrics that define your organizational structure, process models, and development methods. The insights and examples in this book are based entirely on field experience. You'll learn practical techniques like building tools to track key metrics and developing data-based early warning systems. Along the way, you'll learn which metrics align with different development practices, including traditional and adaptive methods.
No formal experience with developing or applying metrics is assumed.
What's Inside
About the Author
Dave Nicolette is an organizational transformation consultant, team coach, and trainer. Dave is active in the agile and lean software communities.
Table of Contents
Software Development Metrics is a handbook for anyone who needs to track and guide software development and delivery at the team level, such as project managers and team leads. New development practices, including "agile" methodologies like Scrum, have redefined which measurements are most meaningful and under what conditions you can benefit from them. This practical book identifies key characteristics of organizational structure, process models, and development methods so that you can select the appropriate metrics for your team. It describes the uses, mechanics, and common abuses of a number of metrics that are useful for steering and for monitoring process improvement. The insights and techniques in this book are based entirely on field experience.
Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications.
About the Book
When driving a car, you are less likely to speed, run out of gas, or suffer engine failure because of the measurements the car reports to you about its condition. Development teams, too, are less likely to fail if they are measuring the parameters that matter to the success of their projects. This book shows you how.
Software Development Metrics teaches you how to gather, analyze, and effectively use the metrics that define your organizational structure, process models, and development methods. The insights and examples in this book are based entirely on field experience. You'll learn practical techniques like building tools to track key metrics and developing data-based early warning systems. Along the way, you'll learn which metrics align with different development practices, including traditional and adaptive methods.
No formal experience with developing or applying metrics is assumed.
What's Inside
About the Author
Dave Nicolette is an organizational transformation consultant, team coach, and trainer. Dave is active in the agile and lean software communities.
Table of Contents
192 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 2014
8 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 16, 2015
Surprisingly narrow in scope (but quite reasonable in depth). Literally it covers just EV, AC, velocity, cycle time, throughput, cumulative flow, burn chart + some variants & happiness trackers. What it covers, it covers well, but it surely is not a sufficient subset. Nothing about quality, nothing about details of development process efficiency, nothing about availability. Bah.
The most interesting chapter is named "Planning predictability" - it contains few really interesting insights. But it isn't enough to make me recommend this book.
Sadly, a disappointment.
The most interesting chapter is named "Planning predictability" - it contains few really interesting insights. But it isn't enough to make me recommend this book.
Sadly, a disappointment.
September 22, 2017
Very good overview of metrics to be used in software development. I liked the structure of the book and how the metrics were split between metrics used for steering, improvement or both and what is particular when used for one or another. I printed these metrics on paper cards, on one side the name and what they apply to (approach, process-model and delivery mode) and on the other side the notes specific to each purpose (steering or improvement). Left plenty of space on the front to write notes and whatever comes up while tracking the metrics. I'll keep those cards close by, for easy reference.
June 27, 2018
Excellent book covering many ideas for measuring the progress of your team. I've found it very valuable for getting a better understanding of how one should manage a project and how one can use metrics to try and improve the performance of their team. I think the book could have covered more topics (minimising software complexity, more technical metrics), but it did a fabulous job of covering metrics I hadn't thought of measuring before (such as team health using Niko-Niko charts).
A great read for anyone working in an open-minded team.
A great read for anyone working in an open-minded team.
October 21, 2023
The book explains nearly every possible metric you can come up with to measure the progress of a software project. The author not only explains how this metric can be used successfully, but he also explains in great detail how this measurement could be misused and prevent the benefits it could have.
Unfortunately, the book is not much more than a long catalogue of metrics. I had hoped for a more problem / solution guidance and more details on how to measure the data for the metric.
Unfortunately, the book is not much more than a long catalogue of metrics. I had hoped for a more problem / solution guidance and more details on how to measure the data for the metric.
March 24, 2020
Practical book, delivering an overview of the key metrics used for steering software development projects, motivating project teams or diagnosing issues. Content is targeted at junior/mid-level project managers ; experienced managers won't find much to learn in this book.
March 8, 2018
the most important chapters are the first and the second and the last one.
I enjoyed reading this book and found it informative
I enjoyed reading this book and found it informative
November 1, 2019
It bring up ideas to get metrics but nothing that I would consider amazing
February 9, 2020
If more people read this book and followed its recommendations and approaches, there would be better software in the world
November 30, 2020
A good, fairly short overview of various metrics.
December 9, 2023
Insightful all the way through.
I will use this text as the base for developing metrics for the Agile dev team I am on.
I will use this text as the base for developing metrics for the Agile dev team I am on.
September 20, 2015
Was not what I was expecting - but that turned out to be a good thing. I was expecting a pure development metric book around code analysis and deep code insights but what I got was a much more holistic metrics book that was really useful. The structure of the book and the content make it one that I will dip in and out of in the future. If your looking for metrics that really help process improvements or better steering capabilities I would recommend reading this book. A little treasure in my collection.
June 3, 2016
I have a chance to read the book when I was researching to know how to measure success in an agile project.
It's the good book for you if you want an answer or/and an approach like it
It's the good book for you if you want an answer or/and an approach like it
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews