Synopses & Reviews
“Whether consulting, working on projects, or teaching, whenever I need credible, detailed, relevant metrics and insights into the current capabilities and performance of the software engineering profession, I always turn first to Capers Jones’ work. In this important new book, he and Olivier Bonsignour make the hard-headed, bottom-line, economic case, with facts and data, about why software quality is so important. I know I’ll turn to this excellent reference again and again.”
—Rex Black, President, RBCS
Poor quality continues to bedevil large-scale development projects, but few software leaders and practitioners know how to measure quality, select quality best practices, or cost-justify their usage. In The Economics of Software Quality, leading software quality experts Capers Jones and Olivier Bonsignour show how to systematically measure the economic impact of quality and how to use this information to deliver far more business value.
Using empirical data from hundreds of software organizations, Jones and Bonsignour show how integrated inspection, structural quality measurement, static analysis, and testing can achieve defect removal rates exceeding 95 percent. They offer innovative guidance for predicting and measuring defects and quality; choosing defect prevention, pre-test defect removal, and testing methods; and optimizing post-release defect reporting and repair.
This book will help you
- Move beyond functional quality to quantify non-functional and structural quality
- Prove that improved software quality translates into strongly positive ROI and greatly reduced TCO
- Drive better results from current investments in Quality Assurance and Testing
- Use quality improvement techniques to stay on schedule and on budget
- Avoid “hazardous” metrics that lead to poor decisions
Review
“This book provides the best treatment on the subject of economics of software quality that I’ve seen. Peppered with valuable industry data, in-depth analysis, empirical methods for quality improvement, and economic analysis of quality, this book is a must-read for anyone who is interested in this subject. With the many real-life and up-to-date examples and stories linking software quality to daily-life activities, readers will find this book an enjoyable read.”
–Stephen H. Kan, Senior Technical Staff Member and Program Manager, Software Quality–IBM Systems and Technology Group, and author of Metrics and Models in Software Quality Engineering
“Finally, a book that defines the cost and economics of software quality and their relationship to business value. Facts such as the inability of testing alone to produce quality software, the value of engineering-in quality, and the positive ROI are illustrated in compelling ways. Additionally, this book is a mustread for understanding, managing, and eliminating ‘technical debt’ from software systems.”
–Dan Galorath, CEO, Galorath Incorporated & SEER by Galorath
“Congrats to Capers and Olivier as they release their relevant, extensive, and timely research on the costs of defects in today’s software industry. The authors don’t stop with the causes of defects; they explore injection points, removal, and prevention approaches to avoid the ‘technical mortgage’ associated with defective software products. In today’s ‘quick-to-market’ world, an emphasis on strengthening the engineering in software engineering is refreshing. If you’re a software developer, manager, student, or user, this book will challenge your perspective on software quality. Many thanks!”
–Joe Schofield, Sandia National Laboratories; Vice President, IFPUG; CQA, CFPS, CSMS, LSS BB, SEI-certified instructor
“This masterpiece of a book will empower those who invest in software–and the businesses and products that depend on it–to do so wisely. It is a groundbreaking work that rigorously applies principles of finance, economics, management, quality, and productivity to scrutinize holistically the value propositions and myths underlying the vast sums invested in software. A mustread if you want to get your money’s worth from your software investments.”
–Leon A. Kappelman, Professor of Information Systems, College of Business, University of North Texas
“Capers Jones is the foremost leader in the software industry today for software metrics. The Economics of Software Quality is a comprehensive, data-rich study of challenges of quality software across the many application domains. It is an essential read for software quality professionals who wish to better understand the challenges they face and the cost and effectiveness of potential solutions. It is clear that much research and thought has been put into this.”
–Maysa-Maria Peterson Lach, Senior Principal Software Engineer, Raytheon Missile Systems
“In no other walk of life do we resist the necessity and validity of precise, rigorous measurement, as software practitioners have so vigorously resisted for more than fifty years. Capers Jones took up the challenge of bringing sanity and predictability to software production more than three decades ago, and now with Olivier Bonsignour, he brings forth his latest invaluable expression of confidence in applying standard engineering and economic discipline to what too often remains the ‘Wild, Wild West’ of software development.”
–Douglas Brindley, President & CEO, Software Productivity Research, LLC
About the Author
Capers Jones is currently the President and CEO of Capers Jones & Associates LLC. He is also the founder and former chairman of Software Productivity Research LLC (SPR). He holds the title of Chief Scientist Emeritus at SPR, which he founded in 1984. Capers is a well-known author and international public speaker. His research studies include quality estimating, quality measurement, software cost and schedule estimation, software metrics, and risk analysis. He has consulted at more than 150 large corporations and also at a number of government organizations such as NASA, the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Courts. He has also worked with several State governments.
Jitendra Subramanyam is director of CAST Research Labs, bringing CAST’s technical capabilities and structural quality data alive for audiences both within and outside the company. Jitendra is also an active contributor to CISQ (www.it-cisq.org), The Consortium for IT Software Quality. Prior to joining CAST in February 2009, Jitendra was at the Corporate Executive Board, where he managed research teams serving Applications, Architecture, and Project Management executives. Jitendra holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland and a Ph.D. in philosophy of science from the University of Michigan. His doctoral thesis is on building a deterministic mathematical framework for quantum theory.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Preface
Chapter 1: Defining Software Quality and Economic Value
Introduction
Defining Software Quality
Defining Economic Value and Defining the Value of Software Quality
Summary and Conclusions
Chapter 2: Estimating and Measuring Software Quality
Introduction
Using Function Point Metrics for Defect Potentials
Software Defect Potentials
Estimating Software Defect Prevention
Estimating Software Defect Detection and Defect Removal
Measuring Software Quality
Examples of Structural Quality Assessments
Three Problems That Distort Software Economic Analysis
Useful Rules of Thumb for Predicting Software Defect Potentials
Summary and Conclusions about Software Quality Estimation and Measurement
Chapter 3: Software Defect Prevention
Introduction
Analysis of Defect Prevention Results
Summary and Conclusions on Software Defect Prevention
Chapter 4: Pre-Test Defect Removal
Introduction
Small Project Pre-Test Defect Removal
Large System Pre-Test Defect Removal
Analysis of Pre-Test Defect Removal Activities
Summary and Conclusions about Pre-Test Defect Removal
Chapter 5: Software Testing
Introduction
Discussion of the General forms of Software Testing
The Specialized forms of Software Testing
The Forms of Testing Involving Users or Clients
Test Planning
Test Case Design Methods
Errors or Bugs in Test Cases
Numbers of Testing Stages for Software Projects
Testing Patterns by Industry and Type of Software
Testing Pattern Variations by Size of Software
Testing Stages Noted in Law Suits Alleging Poor Quality
Using Function Points to Estimate Test Case Volumes
Using Function Points to Estimates Numbers of Test Personnel
Using Function Points to Estimate Testing Effort and Costs
Testing by Developers or by Professional Test Personnel
Summary and Conclusions on Software Testing
Chapter 6: Post-Release Defect Removal
Introduction
Defect Discovery Rates by Software Application Users
Cost Patterns of Post-Release Defect Repairs
User and Industry Costs from Post-Release Defects
Summary and Conclusions on Post-Release Defects
Chapter 7: Analyzing the Economics of Software Quality
Introduction
The Economic Value of Software
The Economic Impact of Low Quality and High Quality Software
Technical Debt—a Measure of the Effect of Software Quality on Software Costs
The Impact of Software Structure on Quality
The Impact of Staff Training on Quality
The Impact of Professional Certification on Quality
The Impact of Technology Investment on Quality
The Impact of Project Management on Quality
The Impact of Quality Control Methodologies and Tools on Quality
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Software Schedules
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Software Staffing
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Software Development Effort
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Development Productivity Rates
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Development Costs
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Development Cost per Function Point
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Project Cancellation Rates
The Impact of High and Low Quality on the Timing of Cancelled Projects
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Cancelled Project Effort
The Impact of High and Low Quality Effort Compared to Average Projects
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Software Test Stages
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Testing as a Percent of Development
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Test Cases per Function Point
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Numbers of Test Cases Created
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Test Coverage
The Impact of Professional Testers on High and Low Quality
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Software Defect Potentials
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Total Software Defects
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Defect Detection Efficiency (DDE)
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Defect Removal Efficiency (DRE)
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Total Defect Removal
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Defects Delivered to Customers
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Delivered Defects per Function Point
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Defect Severity Levels
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Severe Defects per Function Points
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Software Reliability
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Mean Time to Failure (MTTF) Rate Deployment of Release
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Maintenance and Support
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Maintenance and Support Costs
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Maintenance Defect Volumes
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Software Enhancements
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Enhancement Costs
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Maintenance and Enhancement Staffing
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Total Effort for Five Years
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Cost of Quality (COQ)
The Impact of High and Low Quality on TCO and COQ per Function Point
The Impact of High and Low Quality on the Useful Life of Applications
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Software Application Tangible Value
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Return on Investment (ROI)
The Impact of High and Low Quality on the Costs of Cancelled Projects
The Impact of High and Low Quality on Cancellation Cost Differentials
The Distribution of High, Average, and Low Quality Software Projects
Summary and Conclusions on the Economics of Software Quality
Index