DRAFT Measurement Experience Report, v611 April24 MayOcto 2003

Introduction

This template provides a uniform means for describing experiences in using one or more measures. The template requests general contextual information on the project/organization to which the measures were applied, as well as information on the measure and its use. Examples presented using the template are intended to stimulate readers to think about how various measures might be applied to their own projects or organizations.

Both success stories and unsuccessful attempts provide useful information and should be shared. For unsuccessful attempts, the benefit is that valuable lessons were learned that can be shared with others.

Overview

The template consists of a series of topics with blanks to be filled in. In addition to the template, an instruction sheet that explains how to fill in the blanks and a sample completed template are provided.

Note: In general we are looking for summary information. In the project/organizational overview section, please generally characterize the project or organization - estimates are adequate.

Note: If you would prefer to do the generalization, you may provide only summary information on project name and description as opposed to specific details (e.g., you might describe a project as a monetary exchange program used by a financial institution, without disclosing the name of the bank and/or project name). If generalization is required, it is much preferred to generalize the project/organization overview, rather than the measure descriptions.

The template is organized into sections as follows:

I.Submitter Information

II.Project/Organizational Overview

III.Measure Overview

IV.Costs

V.Benefits

VI.Enablers

VII.Cautions

VIII.Suggested Changes or Enhancements

Measurement Experience Report, DCMA, John Eget, Page 1 of 3

DRAFT Measurement Experience Report Template - Instructions for Completing Template24 May 02

Template Section / Template Field NameDescription / Response
  1. Submitter Info
/ Name / John Eget
Contact Information / 413- 494-7533

100 Plastics Avenue
Pittsfield, Ma. 91201
Current Date / June 12, 2002
Is Data Releasable? / No
  1. Project / Organizational Overview
/ Name and Description / Mk98 Mod4
FBM Fire Control Subsystem Software
Software used in the Fire Control System and Trainer Systems for the Advanced Fleet Ballistic Missile Trident Submarines for the US and UK.
Organization / General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems (GDAIS)
Experience Report Timeframe / 1996 thru 2002
Project Timeframe / 1996 thru 2002
Application Domain / Fire Control Subsystem
Life Cycle Information / Typically waterfall, but several projects are being performed incrementally within the waterfall.
System Requirements Analysis thru deployment, which includes IV&V and maintenance.
Type of eEffort / New product development, product maintenance, COTS, re-engineering, systems engineering
Life Cycle InformationFocus of Measurement / Program managers, mid-level managers, practitioners, team leads. Examples of uses include project management, process improvement, engineering management, technical engineering.
Relative Size / Very Large ESLOCS
Staffing Level / >600 people total
III.Measure Overview / List of measure specifications / Development and Deployment Team (DDT) Schedule
Development and Test Milestone Chart(s)
Test Case Status Chart
Resource Expenditure Chart
Requirements Stability Chart
Problem Report (PR) Trend Chart
PR Disposition Charts (CI, SW, & Root Cause)
PR Summary
Source Line Of Code (SLOC) Data
Deployed Problem Density Data
Audit Trend Charts
Motivation for measurement / Process improvement to eventually achieve CMM Level 5
  1. Measurement Costs
/ Establishment Start-up Effort or Costs / Unknown, charged to overhead.
Sustainment Effort or Costs to Perform Measurement / DCMA collects data, at no charge to contractor, about 1/2 day each month.
  1. Benefits
/ Narrative on Benefits of Using the Measure /
  • Provide consistent metrics for tracking programs
  • Characterize the product quality
  • Track current project and compliance to process
  • Provide necessary insight to assist program planning decisions
  • Improve budget prediction accuracy of future effort
  • Provide process improvement decision data
  • Provide common terminology at meetings for software metrics
  • Provide supporting briefing data

Quantitative Benefits / Cost savings, cost avoidance, labor hours, and/or return on investment (cost savings/cost investment).
Data is proprietary
  1. Enablers
/ Narrative on What Enabled this Measure to be Used Successfully / Determined to be a common metric for two suppliers designated as dual prime suppliers.
  1. Cautions
/ Narrative on Cautions in Using the Measure / Any of these issues:
  • Misinterpretation of reports
  • Misuse of measurement data or reports
  • Data reliability issues
  • Tool selection and implementation challenges

  1. Suggested Changes or Enhancements
/ Narrative on What You Might Change or Enhance for this these Measures / We have made slight changes to the original metric list. This was based upon needs of all and availability of metrics to be viewed by all parties and open for comment.
Should be tailored to all projects.