1. Introduction

Designing and implementing an effective product development process can be difficult and expensive. Once an organization has crafted a process, it can be extremely difficult to quantify the processes cost and effectiveness. Often, process evaluation will be an ad-hoc combination of subjective and objective metrics. While subjective elements, such as ease of following the process, are valid considerations, more objective metrics are desirable. This chapter proposes metrics that measure (1) the effort associated with following a process and (2) the quality of the product generated by the process and the quality of the process itself.

2. Measuring Effort

Effort data measures how much time/money is spent performing various activities associated with designing and building a product. Collecting effort data on all labor produces a consistent measure of the activity types associated with project design and execution. The data can aid in better understanding the design process and help identify areas for improvement. While intended primarily for measuring development activities, this collection activity can apply to all personnel involved with any aspect of a project and can assist in achieving process maturity ratings.

Many organizations track the amount of effort spent in various development phases, e.g., requirements, design, implementation, and integration and test. This is usually achieved via a project Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) delineating standard development phases. While WBS-level...