For Application Development & Program Management Professionals (Length: 20 pages)

July 27, 2009

Software Size Matters, And You Should Measure It

Find The Right Software-Sizing Technique For Your Development Organization

by Mary Gerush, Dave West

with Mike Gilpin, David D'Silva, Justinas Sileikis, Wallis Yu


Executive Summary (This is a document excerpt)

It is critical for application development professionals to be able to effectively and objectively answer the question "how big is your software project?" in order to provide effective metrics, improve estimation practices, target improvement initiatives, and refine governance and architectural processes. Yet too few organizations measure software or project size in a consistent and structured way; most instead rely on subjective approaches to provide comparison and context. Practitioners argue that traditional sizing techniques are too complex and add overhead. But sizing does not have to be complex. Forrester increasingly sees effective organizations introducing pragmatic sizing approaches that quantify size early in the development process and then applying that information to development measures such as progress, quality, and stability. For these organizations, size provides a currency that enables effective discussions on cost, value, and productivity.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

NOTES & RESOURCES

itemKnowledge Of Software Size Provides Context And Enables Insight

itemSizing Is Difficult, And Application Development Pros Often Ignore It

itemImplement The Right Sizing Techniques Based On Your Goals And Skills

itemOptimize Your Sizing Approach With Intelligent Application And Consistency

recommendations

itemSize Software Early And Often Throughout The Application Life Cycle

Forrester interviewed 17 vendor and user companies, including Boeing, Booz Allen Hamilton, CHARISMATEK Software Metrics, Galorath, PRICE Systems, QSM, R+V, Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon, Software Productivity Research, and Total Metrics.

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Analyst: Dave West, Mary Gerush
Technology: Application Development, Application Development Metrics & Benchmarks, Application Development Processes & Tools
Geography: Asia Pacific, Europe, North America

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