The following indicators allow controlling of the
essential key performance areas of software maintenance and development:
- Productivity (Cost Efficiency): The quotient from the size of produced or changed software and the effort required (see: Measuring Productivity in Software Development).
- Defect Rate (Defect Density): The quotient from the number of production defects per time unit and the size of the system. It must be defined which types of defects are relevant for the defect rate.
- Effort/Costs for correcting Defects: The quotient from the effort for correcting defects (only types which are relevant for the defect rate) per time unit and the size of the system.
These measurements are completely independent of any
process model or methodology, i.e. they are useful for heavyweighted processes as well
as for agile development. Even agile development requires KPIs in-time for
justification.
The benefits of KPIs in software maintenance and
development are:
- Performance and quality become measurable and comparable.
- KPIs allow the determination of quantitative success criteria and a precise verification of their achievement.
- Trends become transparent. KPIs serve as indicators for a need for action.
- Performance and quality become predictable (e.g. effort estimations on basis of experiences and empirical data regarding the productivity of similar projects).
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