Many people have asked us to recommend books on software measurement and related topics of project management. We offer this list of Recommended Reading as our favorites in the area and encourage you to suggest other books that you enjoy as well.
Books by Carol Dekkers
The IT Measurement Compendium: Estimating and Benchmarking Success with Functional Size Measurement (2008)
by Manfred Bundschuh and Carol Dekkers
“This is a most useful and practical book. It should be on every project manager’s desk as a handy reference on all things dealing with software measurement, estimation, benchmarking, and process improvement. Easy to read, easy to understand, and easy to apply !” — Peter R. Hill, CEO, International Software Benchmarking Standards Group
Program Management Toolkit for Software and Systems Development (2008)
by Pekka Forselius, Carol Dekkers, Matti Kosonen, and Matti Karvinen
Practical Software Project Estimation: A Toolkit for Estimating Software Development Effort & Duration
by International Software Standards Benchmarking Group
Fundamental Concepts for the Software Quality Engineer Volume 2 (2007)
Editors: Sue Carroll and Taz Daughtrey
Chapter Writers: Carol Dekkers and Patricia McQuaid
Books about Measurement:
Applied Statistics for Software Managers (2002)
(Recommended at 2008 QUEST Manager’s Workshop)
by Katrina Maxwell
IT Measurement: Practical Advice from the Experts (2002)
by International Function Point Users Group, et al
Metrics and Models in Software Quality Engineering – 2nd Edition (2003)
by Stephen H. Kan
(Carol Dekkers’ review: This 2nd Edition is a new and improved version of Stephen Kan’s original version originally published in 1995. It builds on the many fine features and quality writing that Stephen presented in his original works.)
Function Point Analysis Measurement Practices for Successful Software Projects (2000)
by David Garmus & David Herron
The Goal/Question/Metric Method (1999)
by Rini van Solingen and Egon Berghout
Measuring & Motivating Maintenance Programmers (1992)
(Recommended at 2008 QUEST Manager’s Workshop)
by Jerome B. Landsbaum and Robert L. Glas
Books about Requirements:
Customer-Centered Products, Creating Successful Products Through Smart Requirements Management (2000)
by Ivy F. Hooks and Kristin A. Farry
(Review by Carol Dekkers: The entire book is well written and packed full of workable solutions and models to combat requirements challenges, anecdotes and case histories to vividly illustrate concepts being explained, and concrete advice about the managers role in each step of the requirements process. While some requirements books preach about additional tasks to be done along the course of the system development process, Hooks and Farry provide a streamlined solution to requirements management that cuts out the fat from process steps, and reduces rework by getting the product correct the first time through. One of the most appealing aspects of this book was that the product requirements are not specific just to software — they are equally applicable to all types of product development.)
Writing Effective Use Cases (2000)
by Alistar Cockburn
(Review by Carol Dekkers: Writing Effective Use Cases is easy to digest and, at the same time, immediately practical: “People rarely have time to make the use cases formal, complete and pretty. They usually only have time to make them “sufficient”, which is all that is necessary.” (p. 5) This is a welcome respite from the volumes of technical books that expound on theory before practicality. As an added bonus, the author has liberally sprinkled examples, symbols and easy-to-follow exercises demonstrating the use case principles, all through the book. Overall rating: Recommended for seasoned use case practitioners and novices alike – everyone working with use cases should have a copy of Writing Effective Use Cases on their bookshelf.)
Requirements by Collaboration (2002)
by Ellen Gottesdiener
(Review by Carol Dekkers: Requirements by Collaboration is intended to be a practitioner’s guide, and is a refreshing departure from the textbook, lecturing style books of yesteryear. Ms. Gottesdiener describes real life, down to earth scenarios with which developers will easily identify, and provides low risk, high value solutions that can be implemented without major budget overhauls. In these times of economic and budgetary constraints, Requirements by Collaboration is a breath of fresh air. Practitioners will find a treasure trove of new ideas mixed with proven concepts – a welcome respite to the often times frustrating requirements articulation process.)
Books about Process Improvement:
Measuring the Software Process: Statistical Process Control for Software Process Improvement (1999)
by William A. Florac and Anita D. Carleton
CMMI Distilled: A Practical Introduction to Integrated Process Improvement (2001)
by Dennis M. Ahern, Aaron Clouse, Richard Turner
Practical Software Measurement: Objective Information for Decision Makers (2002)
by John McGarry, et. al.
(Summary: This book is the official, definitive guide to PSM written by the leaders of the PSM development initiative. It describes the principles and practices for developing, operating, and continuously improving your organization’s measurement program. It uses real-world examples to illustrate practical solutions and specific measurement techniques. This book examines the foundations of a software measurement program in depth, defining and prioritizing information needs, developing a project-specific information model, tailoring a process model to integrate measurement activities, and analyzing and understanding the results.)
Six Sigma Simplified (2001)
by Jay Arthur
Project Retrospectives (2001)
(Recommended at 2008 QUEST Manager’s Workshop)
by Norman L. Kerth
The Back of the Napkin (2008)
(Recommended at 2008 QUEST Manager’s Workshop)
by Dan Roam
Many of the links on this page are Amazon affiliate links.