Page 135 -

106 PART TWO MANAGING SOFTWARE PROJECTS

9. Identify the actions that you will take to implement the measures.
10. Prepare a plan for implementing the measures.
A detailed discussion of these steps is best left to the SEI’s guidebook. However, a
brief overview of key points is worthwhile.
Because software supports business functions, differentiates computer-based sys-
tems or products, or acts as a product in itself, goals defined for the business can
almost always be traced downward to specific goals at the software engineering level.
The software metrics For example, consider a company that makes advanced home security systems which
you choose are driven have substantial software content. Working as a team, software engineering and busi-
by the business or
technical goals you ness managers can develop a list of prioritized business goals:
wish to accomplish.
1. Improve our customers’ satisfaction with our products.
2. Make our products easier to use.

3. Reduce the time it takes us to get a new product to market.
4. Make support for our products easier.
5. Improve our overall profitability.
The software organization examines each business goal and asks: “What activi-
ties do we manage or execute and what do we want to improve within these activi-
ties?” To answer these questions the SEI recommends the creation of an
“entity-question list” in which all things (entities) within the software process that are
managed or influenced by the software organization are noted. Examples of entities
include development resources, work products, source code, test cases, change
requests, software engineering tasks, and schedules. For each entity listed, software
people develop a set of questions that assess quantitative characteristics of the entity
(e.g., size, cost, time to develop). The questions derived as a consequence of the cre-
ation of an entity-question list lead to the derivation of a set of subgoals that relate
directly to the entities created and the activities performed as part of the software
process.
Consider the fourth goal: “Make support for our products easier.” The following
list of questions might be derived for this goal [PAR96]:

• Do customer change requests contain the information we require to adequately
evaluate the change and then implement it in a timely manner?
• How large is the change request backlog?
• Is our response time for fixing bugs acceptable based on customer need?
• Is our change control process (Chapter 9) followed?

• Are high-priority changes implemented in a timely manner?
Based on these questions, the software organization can derive the following sub-
goal: Improve the performance of the change management process. The software