Here are some of the questions that were answered after the webinar with Bill Curtis, David Herron, and Dan Galorath.  They were answered on Cast software’s Facebook page.

What about aerospace component level software and how would you apply a cost factor their  complexity factors?

What is IFPUG Back Fired Points, how does it help?

Daniel Galorath Backfiring  means counting lines of code then using a number of lines per function point to approximate function points.  I think it is much better than nothing for a finger in the wind.  Many others in the industry object strongly to it.

Another question – What type of information is needed to start using a software analysis and measurement tool?

Bill Curtis First  you need to know how you want to use the results.  That will help you establish criteria for evaluating which of the various tools best meets your needs.  The Goal-Question-Metric paradigm is a good guide for determining what your measurement needs are.

Here’s  another question from the webinar – Would like to understand how we can  improve our ability to capture metrics (defect density either using effective loc and or functional point) for applications that rely heavily on database’s where the logic resides – e.g to map biz rules existing in table rows/columns etc?

Daniel Galorath Generally  you would count the work involved in building the database, not the entry of the data into the database itself. SEER will provide estimates of defect density, etc.  From my understanding CAST can provide measurement of this.

What  is the panel’s opinion on LLOC to FP translation such as QSM language by language table which they developed from their database.

Do you have to have a technology inventory?

How do you extend the IT governance to software suppliers? what requirements to pose to them?

Bill Curtis Customers are starting to write measurable quality targets such as robustness or security targets into their outsourcing contracts as the equivalent of service level agreements. They then establish a Quality Gate where all software received is measured and evaluated before being put in operation. If the supplier’s software falls below the quality target they must remediate the code or face a financial penalty.

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We have some exciting events coming up this month with the first: The Future of Software Analysis and Measurement on October 12, 2011. I am really excited to share the virtual podium with Bill Curtis, Senior VP and Chief Scientist of CAST Corporation and with David Herron, David Consulting Groups VP of Knowledge Solution Services as moderator.

Bill and I both spoke at a software engineering conference last year and I got very excited about his work in software analysis with CAST. Besides Bill being an engaging speaker his content was very illuminating, covering issues of existing software, its complexity and reliability. He ev!–more–
en showed the number of latent defects in software of various languages. I have greatly summarized some of the a href=http://www.galorath.com/wp/software-defects-in-fielded-software-cast-analysis.phpsoftware defect conclusions /aelsewhere on this BLOG and CAST has been instrumental in recognizing and quantifying the a href=http://www.galorath.com/wp/500-billion-it-debt-for-deferred-maintenance.phptechnical debt/a

And with David Herron, one of the most knowledgeable people in the measurement community, this should be a do not miss event.

Details of the event follow as does a link to signup. Hope you can make it.
blockquotestrongThe Future of Software Analysis and Measurement/strong

October 12, 2011 8:00am Pacific, 11:00am Eastern, 4:00pm London

a href=http://www.castsoftware.com/news-events/event/future-of-sam?gad=glrClick this Webinar Link to sign up/a

Join us on October 12th to hear from an exciting lineup of experts on the Future of Software Analysis and Measurement: Dan Galorath, President CEO of Galorath Inc and Bill Curtis, SVP Chief Scientist, CAST will have an engaging discussion moderated by David Herron, VP, Knowledge Solution Services, David Consulting Group.

These industry veterans will share experiences with their client’s software development processes and discuss how Software Analysis and Measurement tools coupled with Parametric Estimation models can impact organizational performance through increased ROI, customer satisfaction and business value.

The panel will provide insightful and actionable steps that will make an immediate impact on your strategy including how to:

• Drive organization value by fueling Estimate and Measurement practices within an enterprise

• Build the funding rationale through proven economic impact models

• Establish the ROI from Estimate and Measurement practices and process/blockquote

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IBM’s Murray Canter published an interesting article in the communications of the ACM covering calculating and improving the ROI in software systems.   Murray shows how to compute the “investment value” of incomplete software and illustrates why it does have value showing how to compute the net present value and the return on investment of this in process work, using Monte Carlo simulation.  Murray states two axioms:

• Costs and benefits occur over time, so their present values are found through NPV equations
• The future values of costs and benefits are random variables, described as a statistical distribution

I should note this requires a subscription to ACM digital content.

Its abstract states:

“Constrained by limited budgets, most enterprises find it essential to apply unprecedented business discipline to the business function of software and system delivery (SSD) across entire software and system life cycles. For this reason, the CIO, CTO, or VP of software or systems development may be under increased scrutiny from the corporate chief finance office (CFO). When conversing with the CFO, money talks, so only one of two sorts of conversations can take place: software and systems as cost center or software and systems as value-creation center.”

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Here is a copy of my keynote talk at the 2011 ISMA measurement conference, Measurement and Management and Business Value.  The real point is the IT and measurement personnel have the information, knowledge and skill set to provide value to the business, far beyond the costs generate.  But the information needs to be communicated in terms leaders can understand rather than the techie language we all think and speak in… AND if IT starts showing how it contributes to the business and becomes a profit center instead of a cost center IT will get more money to apply to more valuable things.

UPDATE: Someone also asked for a reference communicating the language of management.  I believe this publication on business case analysis to be helpful in that regard.

PS In my talk I referred to software and measurement people as geeks.  To many the term geek is a source of pride.  One person in the talk was offended by being called a geek.  My sincere apologies.  However modern vernacular often defines a geek as a lover of technology, a software developer or someone with an intense love of mathematics.  I consider myself a geek.  And my friend Paul Glen makes his living by “leading geeks.”

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I get so excited when an organization does a true business case and evaluates cost versus benefits of a software / IT system along with the risks.  . Part of the key is thinking and  analysing and communicating like a C llevel person rather than like a technical person.   Here is a link to the PowerPoint I did a webinar on this topic during July 2011 Establishing the ROI on Software Through Examination of Total Ownership Costs.  The full recorded webinar is available on the ITMPI site as well.

One might say that business case analysis is finance 101 and I would agree… Sometimes uncommon success is achieved by doing common things uncommonly well.

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Secretary of Defense Gates announced design efficiencies that should reduce overhead costs, improve business practices and trim some defense programs.

“This Department simply cannot risk continuing down the same path – where our investment priorities, bureaucratic habits, and lax attitudes towards costs are increasingly divorced from the real threats of today, the growing perils of tomorrow, and the nation’s grim financial outlook.”

Tough decisions for tough times make cost estimating and analysis a key component. Gates stated his goal to have every defense dollar invested in the smartest manner. The efficiencies continue a process to reshape and re-balance the defense budget that has already saved the nation $300 billion.

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According to Robert DeSisto of Gartner, SaaS is a ” software service-delivery model… Something is shared on the back end, and that, hopefully, gets you economies of scale… if you’re “getting into this game solely to save money, you have come to the wrong place.”

Basic SaaS advantages:

• Many Enterprise Applications available
• Ability to quickly scale to thousands of users
• Gaining technical value without capital outlay
• Incremental releases deliver functionality immediately for users without internal development
• More rapid response to enhancement requests & defect repairs

However this all doesn’t necessarily yield bottom-line cost savings.

This is not saying anything bad about SaaS, just that homework needs to be done and goals and constraints need to be evaluated.

In our own environment, we have just determined we are better off hosting our own telephone system than using a SaaS solution.  In this case, costs don’t scale well when deploying in an organization with more than a handful of phones.

On the other hand, we are currently considering SaaS for our email for several reasons.  Since the world is now flat, our staff is scattered rather than consolidated as it once was.  For those outside our El Segundo office, VPN and email from our servers is a nuisance.  And the browser mail experience leaves a lot to be desired.  Things would only get easier for them.  For personnel within the El Segundo headquarters, mail would be slower versus our internal network. But would anyone really notice?  Our IT support would become easier and the long hours of daily backup would be significantly reduced.  And finally, we once had a major power outage in El Segundo.  The backup generators could not sustain power for the days it took t0 repair.  Outsourced mail would hopefully have more backup and would not suffer a sustained power outage.

For example, Galorath analysis showed salesforce.com’s development environment could save significant costs.  But the majority of the cost saving was due to the rapid application development, not just the lack of need for in house infrastructure and IT support.

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Dan Galorath briefed the Galorath estimate maturity model, a method of evaluating where the organization is in estimation practice and where it wants / needs to go.

This paper discusses poor estimates and their impact on projects as well as how to improve estimate maturity as a means to more successful projects.

The presentation concludes:

• Estimation and estimation process are core for successful software projects
• Improving estimate maturity can improve your project success rate
• Gartner says even SEER use improves estimate vs. actual variance by 50%
• A good guess is not a substitute for a viable estimate
• Looking at total ownership cost can change project prospective
• Much of the industry is at level 1 in estimation maturity
• Process initiatives like CMMI require:
• Estimation & planning, monitoring & control, measurement & analysis
• IT Infrastructure and IT Services are significant costs and must be estimated in addition to software development and maintenance

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This document analyses Government Acquisition Reform and was developed by a business task force including a who’s who of American technology business and government.  It is very relevant to those concerned with DoD acquisition costs.  I have included a few quotes and conclusions here to give the reader a flavor of the document.

“I reject the notion that we have to waste billions of taxpayer dollars to keep this nation secure.” —Barack Obama

1. Requirements need to be iterative

“Higher costs, whether based on low estimates or poor enterprise management, is unacceptable and harmful to the defense enterprise.”

“While the shortcomings of defense acquisition are manifold, the issue that has drawn by far the greatest criticism to date is the high cost, and cost growth, of the products it produces. Simply stated, we are on an unsustainable cost trajectory.” —John Young, former USD (AT&L)

 Adherence to program execution processes aimed at satisfying the needs of the war fighter is essential: with resources to address contingencies, with proven technology, and viable poor estimates of production volumes.  Programs should be funded when:

 1. the requirement is clear (And requirements should be iterative);

2) funding is adequate, including reserves, is available

3) the technology is proven

 4) the system concept is well-defined

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While I am a strong proponent of examining the business value of IT systems in terms of return on investment, net present value, internal rate of return and other quantified measures.  There are some additional considerations that should be used with prudence:

• Intangible Benefits: For example improved customer satisfaction, better image.
• Additional Future Benefits From Groundwork Laid By This Project:  For example: deploying a new CRM system that lays the groundwork for a human resources system within the same structure.

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