Software Process Measurement in the Real World: Dealing with Operating Constraints

Process measurement occurs in an increasingly dynamic context, characterized by limited resources and by the need to deliver results at the pace of changing technologies, processes and products. Traditional measurement techniques (like the GQM) have been extensively and successfully employed in situations with little or no operating constraints. This paper reports about a measurement project in which –in order to limit the cost and duration of the activities– the team could not perform ad hoc measurements, but had to rely almost exclusively on the data that could be extracted automatically from development and measurement tools already in use. Exploiting the flexibility of the GQM technique, and with the support of a tool supporting the GQM, it was possible to define and execute the measurement plan, to analyze the collected data, and to formulate results in only three months, and spending a very small amount of resources.