Book Series: Increasing Productivity of Software Development, Part 1: Productivity and Performance Measurement - Measurability and Methods

By Stefan Luckhaus

Book Series
Increasing Productivity of Software Development:

In software development, productivity is a measure of how much functionality can be developed in a given time and in compliance with specified quality criteria. If an increase in productivity succeeds, this increases the scope of the developed functionality and reduces the required time. Both features are desirable because software is the stuff innovations are made of. IT has changed almost all areas of life thanks to fundamental innovations.
Our future will be dominated by virtualization and smart helpers, that is, devices equipped with intelligence. This makes software development a key competence. Today, for companies that develop software, productivity as well as time and quality, are critical success factors.
By introducing standards and automation, productivity in software development has been demonstrably increased by a factor of 20. The reutilization of functional and technical components has already enabled measurements of a factor of 100. Such performance differences are only reproducible by measurements and the consistent use of measurement results within a management model designed for continuous optimization.

Part 1:
Productivity and Performance Measurement - Measurability and Methods

This book describes practical experiences with various measurements in software development: advantages and disadvantages of proven and new methods, their automation, the influence of complexity and the steps
towards the implementation of regular measurements.

• Language: English
• Publisher: PASS IT-Consulting Dipl.-Inf. G. Rienecker GmbH & Co. KG
• Release date: Jun 8, 2018
• ISBN: 9783981956573

Book preview

Stefan Luckhaus

Book Series

Increasing Productivity of Software Development

Part 1

Productivity and Performance Measurement – Measurability and Methods

Internet: www.pass-consulting.com

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© PASS IT-Consulting

Dipl.-Inf. G. Rienecker GmbH & Co. KG, Aschaffenburg, Germany

This work, including all its parts, is protected by copyright.

Any use outside the narrow limits of copyright law is prohibited and punishable without the publisher‘s written permission. This applies in particular to reproductions, translations, microfilming and storage and processing in electronic systems or similar processes.

Editing & Proofreading:

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Cover Design & Typesetting:

Antje Schwarzbauer

Cover Graphic & Photos:

Shutterstock Images LLC

Production & Distribution:

PASS IT-Consulting Dipl. Inf. G. Rienecker GmbH & Co. KG

Heidrun Fernau-Rienecker

Print:

tredition

March 2018

Contents

Contents

Figures

Tables

Preface

Motivation

Future-shaper ICT

The objectives of this book series

About this book

I. Introduction

The key to a global innovation competition

Software drives innovations

II. The Evolution of IT

IT penetrates enterprises

The use of information technology from 1960 to 2015

1960 to 1969

1970 to 1979

1980 to 1989

1990 to 1999

2000 to 2009

2010 bis 2019

What could the future look like?

The importance of productive software development

III. What is Productivity and how can it be measured?

Different aspects of productivity

Productivity of software development

Requirement 1: Process scope is defined consistent

Requirement 2: Final product quality is consistently

Requirement 3: Input is measurable

Requirement 4: Output is measurable

IV. Methods for measuring the Development Output

Requirements on a size metric

Code metrics

Functional size measurement

Function Point Analysis

The COSMIC Method

The Data Interaction Point Method

Comparison of measurement methods

More measuring methods

V. Automation and the Limits of Measurability

Measurements are a cross-sectional task

Approaches for automated measurements

Potential inaccuracies when measuring implemented systems

VI. The Impact of Complexity

The complexity of implemented code

Interactional complexity

Algorithmic complexity

VII. Tips and Hints for a practical Introduction

Definition of objectives

Stage 1: Evaluation and calibration of a measuring method

Stage 2: Launch and collection of empirical values

Stage 3: The practical use of measurements

VIII. Conclusion

Glossary

Bibliography

About the Author

Book Recommendations

Figures

Tables

Preface

to the Book Series

Increasing Productivity of Software Development

Gerhard Rienecker

Motivation

If you can answer the following questions with a clear yes, this book series on productivity of software development cannot provide new ideas. Put down this book and pursue your objectives by means of your own strategies. However, if you cannot say yes beyond doubt or if you have a tendency to say no, this book series can definitely be a source of inspiration.

Questions:

1) Is your IT shop managed by clear KPIs?

2) Do you know your productivity and quality performance?

3) Do you know the development productivity of your developers?

4) Do you know the maintenance efficiency of your developers?

5) Do you know the processing performance of your applications?

Well, you are still reading. I did not expect anything else. For more than 30 years I am an IT consultant, in business for many well-known companies and I must say that most of the IT organizations do not have answers to these questions. There are many initiatives and approaches, but most of them remain rudimentary. Continuous IT management strategies, which can answer the questions above clearly and consistently, are extremely scarce. I would appreciate your feedback.

Future-shaper ICT

Since the invention of the first freely programmable computer in 1941 by Konrad Zuse, the information and communication technologies (ICTs) derived from it write one success story after another. ICT penetrates our lives more and more. It shapes and organizes business functions and processes and pursues the continuous IT-zation of businesses (real-time enterprises or internet companies). It makes many products smart (you can find more than 100 processors with a lot of software in a new car today). In the past, the omnipotence of ICT has led to revolutionary changes of products such as cameras, music players and media, mobile phones, and so on. More and more it contributes to the individual lifestyle, be it game consoles or movie creation, and it even revolutionizes entire industries. ICT has initiated the 5th Kondratiev wave [Korotayev/Tsirel 2010] – an economic cycle focusing on information as an economic asset and replacing the industrial society by the information society.

This economic asset is different from the goods of the industrial society. Information is intangible, has no natural scientific basis (physics, chemistry, and so on), cannot be explained by basic models, is