Metrics-driven Enterprise Software Development: Effectively Meeting Evolving Business Needs

Subhajit Datta

J. Ross Publishing, Aug 15, 2007 - Computers - 304 pages

Almost every engineering discipline other than software has clear guidelines for measuring processes and products and making decisions based on quantified evidence. Although metrics are seen as powerful tools for understanding and gauging software development, they are usually employed ad-hoc and without clear directions for interpreting the numbers and acting on them. Software development processes are not often followed in spirit due to difficulties in evaluating their benefits and tracking compliance. This results in software that does meet user needs. 

This practical book crosses the divide between theory and practice and discusses why essential processes so often fail to deliver quality industrial software. It describes how to integrate processes and metrics to ensure easier and more effective enterprise software development. Metrics-Driven Enterprise Software Development introduces the techniques for building, applying and interpreting metrics for the workflows across the software development life cycle phases of inception, elaboration, construction and transition. This metrics-driven approach guides practitioners at every step of the lifecycle and helps them analyze, design, implement, test and deploy solutions with greater confidence, purpose, and sensitivity to evolving business needs. Effective use of metrics is a key skill for all those involved in next generation software projects. 

This book is a must read for software engineering practitioners (architects, application developers, designers and project managers), academics, and students and apprentices of software engineering.

Contents

• On Understanding Deciding: 6
• References: 8
• Schmoozing with the Ideas: 13
• Software Engineering and Metrics: 31
• Key Themes in Software Measurements: 59
• Taking Your Project the Metrics Way: 71
• References: 78
• References: 90
• The Drivers of Software Development: 93
• It Takes Some Doing: 131
• References: 148
• The Plot Thickens: 171
• Reference: 181
• Diving at the Deep End: 203
• Building Time: 223
• References: 252
• Feel of the World: 253
• Epilogue: 269

About the author

Subhajit Datta gained a wide array of experience as a software engineer at IBM Global Services as technical lead, business systems analyst, release manager, and application developer. He has a Master of Science in Computer Science and an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering. Mr. Datta is an IBM Certified Specialist for Rational Unified Process, with additional certification in Object-Oriented Analysis and Design with UML. He is a member of Upsilon Pi Epsilon, the international honor society in the computing and information disciplines. Mr. Datta is currently working on his doctoral dissertation at the Florida State University. His published research include topics such as metrics, software architectures, design tools and techniques, and methodologies.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Metrics-driven Enterprise Software Development: Effectively Meeting Evolving Business Needs; J Ross Publishing Series; Metrics-driven Enterprise Software Development: Effectively Meeting Evolving Business Needs, Subhajit Datta
• Author: Subhajit Datta
• Publisher: J. Ross Publishing, 2007
• ISBN: 1932159649, 9781932159646
• Length: 304 pages
• Subjects: Computers / Software Development & Engineering / General