Validation of a Quality Management Metric

Abstract

The quality of software management in a development program is a major factor in determining the success of a program. The four main areas where a software program manager can affect the outcome of a program are requirements management, estimation/planning management, people management, and risk management. In this thesis a quality management metric (QMM) was used to measure the performance of ten software managers on Department of Defense (DoD) software development programs. Informal verification and validation of the metric compared the QMM score to an overall program success score for the entire program and yielded positive correlation. The results of applying the QMM can be used to characterize the quality of software management and can serve as a template to improve software management performance. Future work includes further refining the QMM, applying the QMM scores to provide feedback and appropriate training to program managers, and using the QMM scores as an input to program cost and schedule estimation methodologies to provide better program estimates.