Meeting the software challenge: Strategy for competitive success

OVERVIEW: The software industry has come a long way from an era dominated by the first, relatively immature, teams to one in which acceptance of software processes is widespread. Unfortunately, that is not enough. After you have the processes, you need the tools and procedures that will drive quality up and cycle time down. To that end, Motorola has focused on technology assessments, technology roadmaps and the proliferation of the demonstrably best alternatives in tools and procedures. This article focuses on the strategic use of metrics at all levels in the company to understand the impact of the tools and technologies on its progress to date, and to guide future improvement strategies.