Experiences in Implementing Measurement Programs

Despite significant improvements in implementing measurement programs for software development in industry, data collected by Rubin Systems show that a large percentage of metrics programs fail. This technical note describes some useful lessons learned at a number of organizations that have implemented measurement programs using the Goal-Driven Software Measurement methodology. It includes a description of the methodology, a discussion of the challenges, obstacles, and their solutions, an initial set of indicators and measures, as well as some artifacts (such as templates and checklists) that we have found to enable successful implementations. The main motivation of this technical note is to provide some practical advice and guidelines for planning and implementing measurement programs.