Four common pitfalls in using software metrics for project management

摘要

Eric Bouwers, Software Improvement Group and Delft University of Technology Joost Visser, Software Improvement Group and Radboud University Nijmegen Arie van Deursen, Delft University of Technology Software metrics—helpful tools or a waste of time? For every developer who treasures these mathematical abstractions of software systems there is a developer who thinks software metrics are invented just to keep project managers busy. Software metrics can be very powerful tools that help achieve your goals but it is important to use them correctly, as they also have the power to demotivate project teams and steer development in the wrong direction. For the past 11 years, the Software Improvement Group has advised hundreds of organizations about software development and risk management on the basis of software metrics. We have used software metrics in more than 200 investigations in which we examined a single snapshot of a system. Additionally, we have used software metrics to track the ongoing development effort of more than 400 systems. In the course of these projects, we have learned some pitfalls to avoid when using software metrics for project management. This article addresses the four most important of these:.