Measurement automation: Methodological background and practical solutions - A multiple case study

Continuous collection and analysis of measurement data is crucial in tracki ng and managing a software development process efficiently. However, practi ce has shown that setting up and carrying out a measurement programme requi res a lot of effort. Despite their tight schedules project managers and pro ject personnel perform measurement activities in addition to their main dai ly duties. Furthermore, measurement tasks may be perceived us secondary wor k for a software development project, which as such may harm the success of the measurement programme. Thus, all measurement activities that are reaso nable to automate should be automated. In this paper we propose a measurement automation process that is based on the principles of goal-driven measurement. We give two industrial examples to demonstrate what measurement automation means in practice. We also discu ss tool requirements and as an example, we present a measurement management tool enhanced by measurement automation.