Metrics and Continuous Improvement
One of the keys our process’s high predictability is extensive use of metrics. The measurement of Agilis Solutions’ project life-cycle processes provides insights into the quality, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of the processes we use to develop and maintain the software products and applications that we build for our customers. These measurements provide the means to assess the health of our life-cycle, much in the same way that a physician uses measurements such as pulse rate, blood pressure, and body temperature to assess the health of a patient. The following table provides examples of the various project metrics that we track.
| Name | Objective | Collected and Analyzed Frequency |
Responsibility | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schedule | ||||
| Schedule deviation | Provides information about how well the project is being executed with respect to its schedule commitments. | At the end of milestones, iterations and project | Project Manager | Mandatory |
| Timeliness | Measures the ability to satisfy customer needs by promised delivery times. | At the end of milestones, iterations and project | Project Manager | Mandatory |
| Response Time | To provide the measurement of support capability. | Monthly for supporting departments, at the end of milestones and the project of maintenance projects | Supporting lead, project managers | Optional |
| Size | ||||
| Product Size | Provides tracking over the size of software products against estimations. This metric also serves as the base for other metrics, for example productivity, or quality of product. | Project, milestones, iteration start, SRS completion, and at the end of the project, milestones, and iteration. | Project Manager | Mandatory |
| Size Deviation | Provides information about how well the estimation is performed. | Project/iteration start, SRS completion, and at the end of iteration, milestones, and project. | Project Manager | Mandatory |
| Effort | ||||
| Effort Usage | Provides tracking of the used effort against budgeted effort. | Weekly | Project Manager | Mandatory |
| Effort Deviation | Measures the effectiveness of effort usage, project planning and managing capability. | At the end of milestones, iterations, and project. | Project Manager | Mandatory |
| Effort Distribution | Provides visibility into the effort distribution, the proportion of each type of activity, and the cost drivers of project. | At the end of milestones, iterations, and project. | Project Manager | Mandatory |
| Requirements | ||||
| Requirement Completeness | Measures the completeness of requirements and work remaining to completion. | Weekly | Project Manager | Mandatory |
| Requirement Stability | Provides visibility into whether requirement changes are responsible for cost overruns, schedule delays, and decreased product quality. | At the end of milestones, iterations, and project. | Project Manager | Mandatory |
| Productivity | ||||
| Productivity | Provides measurement about the general productivity in the project. | At the end of milestones, iterations, and project. | Project Manager | Mandatory |
| Review and test effectiveness | Provides a measurement about the effectiveness of review and test activities. | At the end of milestones, iterations, and project. | Project Manager | Mandatory |
| Quality | ||||
| Defect Rate | Provides trend and the measurement of product quality. | Depends on project: number of defects is calculated daily or weekly Defect rate and leakage will be calculated when milestones, iterations, and project is completed. | Project Manager | Mandatory |
| Quality Cost | Provides the cost that project pays for the quality and the efficiency of quality activities in project. | At the end of milestones, iterations, and project. | Project Manager | Mandatory |
| Customer Satisfaction | Provides customer satisfaction and measures the success of the project. | At the end of project, quarterly, or every 6 months. | Software Quality Assurance | Mandatory |
| Defect Removal Efficiency | Provides the efficiency of review and/or test processes. | At the end of milestones, iterations, and project. | Project Manager | Mandatory |
