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Measuring Performance from Software Process Improvement
The AMI methodology allows users to target their software process improvement actions to real business objectives. This tried and tested approach to software project management is attracting an ever-increasing number of users
In an increasingly global market, a proactive approach to software management is the only way forward for European software producers. Measurement is crucial to this approach. The AMI (application of metrics in industry) project aimed to promote the use of measurement in software development through the development and promotion of the AMI method. The AMI method introduces a quantitative dimension into Software Process Improvement (SPI), helping users to target their SPI actions towards real business objectives and to define and use appropriate metrics which can monitor the progress and performance of SPI actions. There has been worldwide interest in this approach. The AMI Handbook, launched in 1992, is now distributed in over 30 countries and was edited in 1995 by Addison Wesley. The AMI support tool also has a wide user base; and an AMI user group was established in 1993 to enable the growing number of users to share their experiences.
As the added-value of software in final products continues to increase, top-level management is coming to recognise the importance of understanding and improving the software development process. The market for SPI support is therefore forecast to grow rapidly over the next few years, with obvious business opportunities for the AMI approach.
A number of different tools are already available to support the assessment stage of SPI, including the Capability Maturity Model of the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), or the ISO SPICE preliminary document. The Process Improvement Guide 
of SPICE is based largely on AMI concepts. The major phases of the AMI method are to 'assess', 'analyse', 'metricate' and 'improve'. In the downstream phases of SPI - analysis, measurement and improvement - there are no competing technologies. In the assessment phase, AMI is able to accommodate any of the existing assessment methods, making it the only approach able to cover the entire cycle for SPI. The approach starts by defining the top level business goals of the company as they relate to software. These goals are then broken down into 'sub-goals', which identify the key actors and entities responsible for reaching these targets. Lastly, the metrics measuring the degree to which the goals and sub-goals will be met are defined.
Intracom SA, the leading telecommunications and electronics company in Greece, FINSIEL in Italy, and Compagnie de Signaux or Telecommunications Radio-electriques et Téléphoniques (TRT) in France, are some of the many organisations adopting the AMI approach as part of their Process Improvement Experiments. Furthermore, the European Space Agency (ESA) is analysing the benefits of the approach and are likely to recommend its adoption in the space industry.
tel +33-1-49-08-58-00 -- fax +33-1-49-08-95-88
e-mail akc@objectif.fr
tel +44-171-815-7504 -- fax +44-171-815-7550
e-mail alison.rowe@vax.sbu.ac.uk
www http://www.sbu.ac.uk/csse/ami.html
Research Area Software Technologies
Project EP 5494 AMI
Keywords: project management; software engineering;software process improvement;
| Project Participants | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Alcatel Austria AU | |||
| Bull AG Köln DE | |||
| GEC Alsthom FR | |||
| GEC Marconi IT | |||
| ITS ES | |||
| O.Group IT | |||
| Objectif Technologie FR | |||
| RWTÜV DE | |||
| South Bank University UK | |||
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