Practical evaluation of an organizational memory using the Goal-Question-Metric technique

Abstract

Companies are recognizing the increasing importance of investing in the build-up of core competencies for their competitiveness. This is supported by the set-up and maintenance of an organizational memory. To justify such an investment, it must be evaluated according to the business case. Our evaluation approach uses the Goal-Question-Metric technique to systematically develop a measurement program for the evaluation of an experience base (an organizational memory for software engineering knowledge). Our approach has been applied to a publicly accessible WWW-based experience base for CBR systems, which supports the development of CBR systems. The measurement program not only helped evaluate the system but also provided guidance for the development of the system. © 1999 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.