Using DataDrill EXPRESS to Support CMMI Level Three
This white paper describes how DataDrill EXPRESS has been designed to specifically address the needs of organizations operating at CMMI Level 3. DataDrill EXPRESS, unlike any other commercial solution, provides automation for every Measurement & Analysis (M&A) task in the CMMI, in a way that makes this essential business practice achievable for all organizations. [PDF]
Measurement Process Effectiveness: Calculating Measurement Effectiveness
How do you know if your performance measurement process is effective? Why should you care?
These questions and more are answered in the presentation delivered by Distributive Management's Peter Baxter at the 2008 European Competitive Measurement Symposium in Paris, France.
"Obviously there's more benefit derived from effective performance measurement than ineffective performance measurement," says presenter Peter Baxter. "But many organizations fail to perform this one maintenance activity that ensures the value and usefulness of their measurement process."
Download the presentation to get specific guidance on conducting a measurement effectiveness survey and then using the results to improve measurement effectiveness. [PDF]
Measurement
for Maturity and Process Improvement Using DataDrill EXPRESS
A
measurement process provides valuable guidance for improving your
organization’s capability to plan, monitor and control programs
and projects. Software managers use the measurement and analysis process
to enter and establish plans, to review the progress of actual performance
against the plan, and finally to take management action to identify
and resolve issues of poor process or product performance. The measurement
process is the mechanism that the organization uses to provide information
that managers need to manage the way that the organization requires
them to. The CMMI contains a Measurement and Analysis process area
that outlines key elements of a successful measurement process.
This white paper from Distributive Management focuses on CMMI Level 2 to provide useful guidance
on measurement processes, the CMMI and process improvement, plus information
on putting it all into action with an automated measurement tool like
DataDrill EXPRESS. [PDF]
Getting
the Most Out of Your Change Control System: Measuring Software Quality
A software configuration management process, including
both management and technical tasks, is an essential part of the software
process. Selecting and managing change is as important as actually
making the changes. Without establishing a plan and then monitoring
changes during the entire software project, the chances for delivering
required content by a specific date are slim. By using a measurement
process, including a simple set of measures, you can start coming
to grips with the scope and progress of change in your software project.
You may find that with just a little process, you actually produce
a better product faster. [PDF]
Putting
the DASH In Dashboards: Using DataDrill EXPRESS to Quickly Create
Visual Key Management Information
Many organizations have experienced an explosion in the amount
of data that is available for their
managers to use in making decisions. While this is far better than
the alternative, the wealth of data
requires that managers have a means to navigate and analyze the information
which affects their
projects. This is where DataDrill EXPRESS comes into play. Designed
to summarize large amounts of
information, DataDrill EXPRESS provides a color-coded summary of all
projects and activities of interest
to each manager, simplifying access to key information, and letting
managers focus on managing. [PDF]
If
You Don't Have Performance Measures, Your Project Schedule Won't Help
This article makes the point that a schedule without quality
is of no use and results in a product with no value for customers.
Unless you also measure the vital aspects of the product you are developing,
the schedule has no practical purpose. What does it mean when a project
is ahead of schedule but the product lacks the features to compete
in the marketplace or to satisfy the needs of the consumer? If the
product isn’t usable, then it could be done now, or take another
year - it really doesn’t matter. [PDF]
Focusing
Measurement On the Information Needs of Managers
Establishing a measurement process has evolved from the days
of "If it moves, count it", through goal-question-metric
to today's information-needs based approach for identifying and defining
what to measure. Measurement process guidance from ISO and Practical
Software and Systems Measurement provides a robust and flexible framework
for measurement, but sadly only identify the purpose of measurement
as the "information needs" of managers. What are these information
needs? This article describes simple techniques for identifying information
needs within your organization; information needs that become the
requirements of your measurement process and lead to a useful and
effective measurement process. [PDF]
Identifying
Your Organization's Best Practices
As organizations strive to improve the design, development,
and delivery of software solutions, an effective combination of processes,
tools, and methods is critical. Finding the right combination requires
careful analysis of the variables that influence gains in productivity
and quality. By utilizing industry benchmark data and performance
indicators, organizations can collect and analyze their own data to
determine the combination of processes, tools, and methods that provide
the greatest impact on their performance.This article, contributed
by the David Consulting Group and published in CrossTalk magazine,
reports on three client case studies that incorporated various measurement
techniques to determine best practices. [PDF]
Putting
MANAGEMENT Into Your Requirements Management
Managers who use requirements engineering measures can spot
trouble before a software project becomes a death march. By better
managing requirements engineering, managers ensure that they deliver
a quality product that completely satisfies customer expectations.
Requirements measures help managers prevent software project failures.
This technique of using metrics is not new – what is a fresh
step in the right direction is managers’ expectations that they
are more closely involved in monitoring and controlling the requirements
process. [PDF]
Getting
to Market Faster: Measuring Requirements Productivity
Conceptually, “time to market” is a simple concept
-- when you spend less time getting a product to market, you create
competitive advantage, capture market share by beating the competition,
and will use fewer resources or at least less time. This presentation
as delivered by Distributive Management's Peter Baxter at the 2005
Telelogic User Group Conference brings to light how improving time
to market requires looking analytically, not subjectively, at software
development as a process similar to a manufacturing process. [PDF]
The
Emergence of PGC and the View-of-Record
An article authored by Phil Wilson of RuleSphere International
that discusses the three domains of Performance management, IT / enterprise
Governance, and regulatory Compliance as theyhave emerged in today's
fast-moving and highly regulated business environment. [PDF]
Dashboards
for Project Management and Process Improvement
A paper from the E-SEPG 2005 Conference, written by Patrick
Hamon of Spirula, on creating useful dashboards for strategic and
operational management. [PDF]
Effective
Measurement Techniques for Small Organizations
How can small organizations effectively meet the increased
requirements of the CMMI Model? This tutorial from SEI Partner, CyberSolutions,
provides some real world solutions, describing the implementation
results of measurement workshops conducted at several small organizations.
[PDF]
Delivering
a CMMI-Compliant Project Plan in 30 Minutes
Booz Allen is using Select Process Director to streamline
process development, communicate best practices, promote consistency,
capture process feedback, and simplify process management while enabling
a more easily tailored, project-defined process. This presentation
discusses the Booz Allen approach to developing and deploying the
process using the Process Director tool. [PDF]
Contact Kevin Schaaf at
Booz Allen Hamilton for more information.
Selecting
Measures for the Entire Software Life Cycle
A measurement process has become a required element in managing
technology programs. Software managers frequently ask: “What
metrics should I use?” The effectiveness of a rigid list of
metrics is low as it is impossible to predict the issues and challenges
facing the wide range of development life cycles and processes. This
article presents some easy-to-apply techniques for selecting metrics
that aid in managing the entire software life cycle. [PDF]
What
to Look for in a Performance Measurement Solution
This article focuses on what to look for in a performance
measurement solution, and also helps to explain all aspects of using
measurement for managing business functions.
[PDF]
SPC
Analysis Unraveled
Peter Baxter shares his knowledge and experiences in a multi-part
article on using statistical process control (SPC) for software and
systems measurement.
[PDF]
The
Benefits of a Complete Solution for Your Configuration Management
and Measurement Needs
Organizations benefit from measuring Configuration
Management (CM) by providing management visibility into planned versus
actual performance and enabling early detection and prediction of
problems that require management attention. For example, management
can easily see if the project is on schedule by comparing the number
of planned vs. actual completed defects. Users who have incorporated
measurement data in their process experience improved understanding
of project schedule and better estimates of project schedule and cost.
[PDF]
Impact
Estimation Tables: Understanding Complex Technology Quantitatively
By Tom Gilb -- Impact Estimation (IE) Tables will allow you to analyze
any technical or organizational idea in relation to requirements and
costs. It’s a method, I’ve developed over the last twenty
years and it works! To give one example, shortly after we taught the
idea to a manufacturing group, they declared it was worth a million
dollars! Using IE for the first time, they presented a bid for project
money to management and got the full budget they requested; $1million
more than they had expected! [PDF]
Best Practice Measurement: The Role of Measurement Experts
The third in a series of articles by Peter Kulik of Accelera Research
covering metrics “best practices”, how DataDrill contributes
to best practices, and the role of outside measurement experts in
improving the ROI for measurement programs. This month, the article
discusses the role outside measurement experts can play in increasing
Return on Investment when establishing or enhancing a metrics program.
[PDF]
High-Performance,
Cost-Effective Enterprise Measurement: A Microsoft Customer Solution
The case study discusses the customer challenges and the success of
the technical solutions provided by the teaming up of Distributive
Software and Microsoft. “DataDrill delivers the scalability
and reliability that users need for enterprise-wide applications,
while minimizing the costs of deployment and maintenance, reducing
TCO”, explains the case study. [PDF]
Realizing
More Value from Software Metrics: A MetricCenter/DataDrill User Profile
The second in a series of articles by Peter Kulik of Accelera Research
covering metrics “best practices”, how DataDrill
contributes to best practices, and the role of outside measurement
experts in improving the ROI for measurement programs. This month,
the article reviews some key areas in which MetricCenter / DataDrill
users who participated in the studystand out from other participants.
[PDF]
Software
Metrics Best Practices: Cause and Effect in Software Metrics
An article by Peter Kulik which presents the top benefits of best-practice
software metrics, and profiles Best-Practice Organizations. The first
in a series of three articles covering metrics “best practices”,
how DataDrill contributes to best practices, and the role of subject-matter
experts in improving the ROI for measurement programs. [PDF]
Measuring
the Right Things: Finding Your Information Needs
Presentation slides from President of Distributive
Software, Peter Baxter, which introduce the measurement processes
in ISO, PSM, and CMMI. The presentation also demonstrates the common
information needs that become requirements for the measurement process.
[PDF]
Making
Measurement Work
A measurement article written by Cheryl Jones from the United States
Army which discusses key measurement concepts, as well as how the
Navy provides excellent examples of the impacts of using measurement
correctly. [PDF]
Systems
Engineering Measurement
A presentation describing measurement within the system engineering
(SE) process and typical SE process models. [PDF]
Measurement
and the CMMI: Measuring the Enterprise
A presentation which describes the measurement and
information model. It also discusses how measurement supports information
needs, demonstrates the importance of CMMI, and discusses the role
of the INCOSE Measurement Working Group as a resource available for
measurement support.
[PDF]
Using
Measurement: Current Standards and Guidance
An article by President of Distributive Software,
Peter Baxter, that stresses the importance of improvement effort,
and selecting an appropriate standard for practical measurement.
[PDF]
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