Better Software Magazine Articles

Measurements that Matter

No one starts a project with the goal of failing, but some metrics experts claim that 80 percent of software metrics initiatives fail. Just as your software project has goals for success, you should have goals for success in your metrics initiatives. Find out what you can do to better your chance for success.

Alan Page's picture Alan Page
Estimates: From Wrong to Real

Need a place to go to get the solutions you've been craving? Management Fix is what you've been looking for. In this issue, find out how to create estimates that make sense.

Johanna Rothman's picture Johanna Rothman
Practical Career Advancement

A word from the Technical Editor

Brian Marick
Go with the Bug Flow

How do you know when your software is done? How do you determine which bugs need to be fixed and which can be tabled for "someday"? Robert Sabourin defines a seven-step process for establishing an effective bug triage system.

Robert Sabourin's picture Robert Sabourin
Leveraging Inspections

You can improve your inspection process, moving from 50 percent to as much as 90 percent defect removal before entering test. Learn how to record and analyze the right data.

Ed Weller's picture Ed Weller
A Small Matter of Metrics

Think you’re ready to launch your new metrics program? Think again. Find out how conducting a trial measurement program on yourself first can give you valuable insights and understanding. Learn about the value and limits of measurement, gain knowledge into why many software measurement efforts fail, and prepare yourself for launching a successful program.

Dave W. Smith
Show and Tell

It's critical that you discover the defects before your customers do. Metrics give you plenty of data, but creating charts and graphs that properly showcase this data can be difficult. In this article, read about six techniques that can help make this task a lot easier.

Metrics That Matter: Making Measurements Meaningful for Everyone

Metrics are only worthwhile if you review and use them. Do your quality reports go directly from the inbox to the trash can? A quality metrics program can be a great asset to your organization. Engineering, sales, and the company overall can benefit from having such a program. This article will help you explore ways to make measurements meaningful outside of QA.

Marsha Holliday
A Measured Response

An infinite number of metrics can be applied to various aspects of software development. In fifteen years of managing software development, Mike Cohn has found a handful of metrics that really help him do his job--and keep him cool and confident when the heat is on. Here, he describes product stabilization metrics, programmer quality metrics, customer satisfaction metrics, and complexity metrics.

Mike Cohn's picture Mike Cohn
Why Nobody in Our Business Can Estimate

Tim Lister gives three examples of software project failures that resulted from poor estimates. The main problem? Software practitioners often don't understand the difference between an estimate and a goal. Here is some advice on how to be better estimators.

Tim Lister's picture Tim Lister

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