Assessing the viability of implicitly estimated velocity for measuring the productivity of software teams

Productivity is an important aspect of any software development project as it has direct implications on both the cost of software and the time taken to produce it. Though software development as a field has evolved significantly during the last few decades in terms of development processes, best practices and the emphasis thereon, the way in which the productivity of software developers is measured has remained comparatively stagnant. Some established metrics focus on a sole activity, such as programming, which paints an incomplete picture of productivity given the multitude of different activities that a software project consists of. Others are more process-oriented — purporting to measure all types of development activities — but require the use of estimation, a technique that is both time-consuming and prone to inaccuracy. A metric that is comprehensive, accurate and suitable in today's development landscape is needed. In this thesis, we examine productivity measurement in software engineering from both theoretical and pragmatic perspectives in order to determine if a proposed metric, implicitly estimated velocity, could be a viable alternative for productivity measurement in Agile and Lean software teams. First, the theory behind measurement — terminology, data types and levels of measurement — is presented. The definition of the term productivity is then examined from a software engineering perspective. Based on this definition and the IEEE standard for validating software quality metrics, a set of criteria for validating productivity metrics is proposed. The motivations for measuring productivity and the factors that may impact it are then discussed and the benefits and drawbacks of established metrics — chief amongst which is productivity based on lines of code written — explored. To assess the accuracy and overall viability of implicitly estimated velocity, a case study comparing the metric to LoC-based productivity measurement was carried out at the University of Helsinki's Software Factory. Two development projects were studied, both adopting Agile and Lean methodologies. Following a linear-analytical approach, quantitative data from both project artefacts and developer surveys indicated that implicitly estimated velocity is a metric more valid than LoC-based measurement in situations where the overall productivity of an individual or team is of more importance than programming productivity. In addition, implicitly estimated velocity was found to be more consistent and predictable than LoC-based measurement in most configurations, lending credence to the theory that implicitly estimated velocity can indeed replace LoC-based measurement in Agile and Lean software development environments

Examining the Structure of Lean and Agile Values Among Software Developers

Peer reviewe

The Effects of GQM+Strategies on Organizational Alignment

The increasing role of software for developing products and services requires that organizations align their software-related activities with high-level business goals. In practice, this alignment is very difficult and only little systematic support is available. GQM+Strategies is a method that aims at aligning organizational goals, strategies, and measurements at all levels of an organization in a seamless way. This article describes a case study of applying GQM+Strategies in a globally op- erating industrial R&D organization developing special-purpose device products for B2B customers. The study analyzes how GQM+Strategies has helped clarify and harmonize the goal set of the organization. Results of the study indicate im- proved alignment and integration of different goals. In addition, the method helped to make the initially informal goal-setting more transparent and consequently en- abled revising it while new, more important goals were discovered and compre- hended. Moreover, several elements affecting the achievement of goals as well as impediments were identified.Peer reviewe

Experiences and Insights from Applying GQM+Strategies in a Systems Product Development Organization

Aligning software-related activities with corporate strategies and goals is increasingly important for several reasons such as increasing the business hit rate of software-based solutions. Several approaches have been proposed to create such an alignment. GQM+Strategies is an approach that applies measurement principles to link goals and strategies on different levels of an organisation. In this paper, we describe experiences from applying GQM+Strategies to elicit, link and align the goals of an integrated systems product development organisation across multiple organisational levels. We provide detailed insights into how GQM+Strategies was applied during a five-month period. The paper presents the application process and main lessons learnt. In addition, related approaches are described and an outlook on future work is given.Peer reviewe

Living God Pandeism: Evidential Support

Pandeism is the belief that God chose to wholly become our Universe, imposing principles at this Becoming that have fostered the lawful evolution of multifarious structures, including life and consciousness. This article describes and defends a particular form of pandeism: living God pandeism (LGP). On LGP, our Universe inherits all of God's unsurpassable attributes—reality, unity, consciousness, knowledge, intelligence, and effectiveness—and includes as much reality, conscious and unconscious, as is possible consistent with retaining those attributes. God and the Universe, together “God-and-Universe,” is also eternal into the future and the past. The article derives testable hypotheses from these claims and shows that the evidence to date confirms some of these while falsifying none. Theism cannot be tested in the same way

A behavior marker tool for measurement of the non-technical skills of software professionals : an empirical investigation

Managers recognize that software development project teams need to be developed and guided. Although technical skills are necessary, non-technical (NT) skills are equally, if not more, necessary for project success. Currently, there are no proven tools to measure the NT skills of software developers or software development teams. Behavioral markers (observable behaviors that have positive or negative impacts on individual or team performance) are beginning to be successfully used by airline and medical industries to measure NT skill performance. The purpose of this research is to develop and validate the behavior marker system tool that can be used by different managers or coaches to measure the NT skills of software development individuals and teams. This paper presents an empirical study conducted at the Software Factory where users of the behavior marker tool rated video clips of software development teams. The initial results show that the behavior marker tool can be reliably used with minimal training

A behavior marker for measuring non-technical skills of software professionals : an empirical study

Managers recognize that software development teams need to be developed. Although technical skills are necessary, non-technical (NT) skills are equally, if not more, necessary for project success. Currently, there are no proven tools to measure the NT skills of software developers or software development teams. Behavioral markers (observable behaviors that have positive or negative impacts on individual or team performance) are successfully used by airline and medical industries to measure NT skill performance. This research developed and validated a behavior marker tool rated video clips of software development teams. The initial results show that the behavior marker tool can be reliably used with minimal training