Results-Based Software Management: Achieve Better Outcomes with Finite Resources Effective software development is no longer merely an IT concern: today, it is crucial to the entire enterprise. However, most businesspeople are not ready to make informed decisions about software initiatives. The Economics of Iterative Software Development: Steering Toward Better Business Results will prepare them. Drawing on decades of software development and business experience, the authors demonstrate how to utilize practical, economics-based techniques to plan and manage software projects for maximum return on technology investments. The authors begin by dispelling widespread myths about software costs, explaining why traditional, "engineering-based" software management introduces unacceptable inefficiencies in today's development environments. Next, they show business and technical managers how to combine the principles of economics and iterative development to achieve optimal results with limited resources.
Using their techniques, readers will learn how to build systems that enable maximum business innovation and process improvement-and implement software processes that allow them to do so consistently. Highlights include * How to repeatedly quantify the value a project is delivering and quickly adjust course as needed* How to reduce software project size, complexity, and other "project killers"* How to identify and eliminate software development processes that don't work* How to improve development processes, reduce rework, mitigate risk, and identify inefficiencies* How to create more proficient teams by improving individual skills, team interactions, and organizational capability* Where to use integrated, automated tools to improve effectiveness * What to measure, and when: specific metrics for project inception, elaboration, construction, and transition The Economics of Iterative Software Development: Steering Toward Better Business Results will help both business and technical managers make better decisions throughout the software development process-and it will help team and project leaders keep any project or initiative on track, so they can deliver more value faster.

Preface xiii About the Authors xvii Part I: The Software-Driven Economy 1 Chapter 1: The Challenge of Software Project Management 3 The High Stakes in Software Development 4 Institutional Focus 5 Traditional Software ProjectManagement 7 Problems with theWaterfall Approach 8 Summary 11 Chapter 2: Achieving Results: The Case for Software Economics 13 Iterative Development 15 Benefits of the Results-Based Approach 16 TheMark of Success 18 Summary 19 Part II: Improving Software Development Economics 21 Chapter 3: Trends in Software Economics 23 A SimplifiedModel of Software Economics 24 Software Engineering: A 40-Year History 26 Keys to Improvement: A Balanced Approach 28 Summary 30 Chapter 4: Reducing Software Project Size or Complexity 33 Managing Scope 33 Reducing the Size of Human-Generated Code 35 Improving Reuse Using Service-Oriented Architectures 36 Summary 36 Chapter 5: Improving the Development Process 39 Project Processes 39 Using an Iterative Process 40 Attacking Significant Risks Early 43 Improve Practices Incrementally to Meet Goals 46 Summary 48 Chapter 6: Improving Team Proficiency 51 Enhancing Individual Performance 52 Improving Project Teamwork 52 Advancing Organizational Capability 55 Summary 57 Chapter 7: Improving Automation Through Integrated Tools 59 Improving Human Productivity 60 Eliminating Error Sources 61 Enabling Process Improvements 62 Summary 63 Chapter 8: Accelerating Culture Change Through Common Sense 65 Profiles of Successful Organizations 65 Keys to Success 67 Recommendation: Select the Right Project, the Right People, and the Right Goals 73 Summary 73 Part III: Practical Measurement for Software Engineering 77 Chapter 9: A Practical View of Software Development Metrics 79 Measurements and Goals 80 Variability and Goals 80 Measurement and Iterative Development 81 WhenMeasurement GoesWrong 83 What'sWrong with Detailed Up-front Planning? 85 DecidingWhat toMeasure, Phase by Phase 86 Summary 87 Chapter 10: What to Measure in the Inception Phase 89 Assessing Financial Viability 90 Assessing Technical Viability and Estimating Overall Project Cost 91 Iteration in the Inception Phase 93 OtherMeasures 94 Summary 96 Chapter 11: What to Measure in the Elaboration and Construction Phases 99 Measurement in the Elaboration Phase 99 Measuring Risk Reduction 102 Measuring Progress 104 Measurement in the Construction Phase 106 Measuring the Project Backlog 107 Measuring Test Coverage 107 Measuring Build Stability 108 Expected Progress Trends in the Construction Phase 109 Summary 110 Chapter 12: What to Measure in the Transition Phase 113 Measurement in the Transition Phase 114 Concluding the Transition Phase 118 Summary 119 Chapter 13: Measuring Projects Embedded in Programs 123 Organizing Projects into Programs 124 Measuring Program Stages 127 Summary 127 Appendix: Getting Started with Iterative Project Management 129 Embarking on Your First Iterative Project 130 Adopting an Iterative Approach Iteratively 144 Conclusion 154 Suggested Reading 157 Index 161