Assessing improvements of software metrics practices

Abstract

There is an extensive literature on design and implementation of software metrics programs, but our knowledge on how to improve and sustain metrics programs that are already implemented is limited. This paper reports from an action research effort to improve metrics practices in a large software organization. We adopt a comprehensive organizational change model to compare and contrast metrics practices before and after the intervention. Our analysis views the metrics program in its organizational context emphasizing management practices, organizational structures, people, technical systems, and underlying metrics rationale. The paper provides insights into tactics for improving software metrics practices, it provides a specific approach to assess such improvements, and it leads to suggestions for how to make software metrics improvements sustainable. © 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.