As with any engineering discipline, software development requires a measurement mechanism for feedback and evaluation. Measurement supports creating a corporate memory and is an aid in answering a variety of questions associated with the enactment of any software process. Measurement also helps, during the course of a project, to assess its progress, to take corrective action based on this assessment, and to evaluate the impact of such action.
According to many studies made on the application of metrics and models in industrial environments, measurement in order to be effective must be.
Focused on specific goals
Applied to all life‐cycle products, processes, and resources
Interpreted on the basis of characterization and understanding of the organizational context, environment, and goals
This means that measurement must be defined in a top‐down fashion. It must be focused, based on goals and models. A metric‐driven, bottom‐up approach, will not work because there are many observable characteristics in software (e.g., time, number of defects, complexity, lines of code, severity of failures, effort, productivity, defect density). A context specific selection of metrics and guidelines on how to use and interpret them should be made, based on the appropriate models and goals of that environment.
The most common and popular mechanism for goal‐oriented software measurement is the Goal Question Metric approach which is presented in this article in combination with examples from GQM application in industry
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Research has highlighted a need for a specific and practical implementation framework for deploying Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The success of LSS implementation in SMEs is highly dependent on the extent to which an LSS deployment programme addresses the specific properties of SMEs. In this study we have evaluated an existing framework for Six Sigma implementation for SMEs [Kumar, M., Antony, J., & Tiwari, M. K. (2011). Six Sigma implementation framework for SMEs -a roadmap to manage and sustain the change. International Journal of Production Research, 49(18), 5449-5467] using a multi-method triangulation approach. The objectives of this study were firstly to strengthen the foundations of the existing framework by uncovering evidence for some of its elements and, secondly, to identify the proposed revisions to the framework, especially focussed on its application in manufacturing SMEs. The results of our study are a collection of confirmations and revision proposals for the framework, leading to a revised conceptual framework.
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