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See Also
Best Practices for Software Projects - Risk Management.
More...
Beyond Broken Links. More...
Minimizing Software Defects via Inspections.
More...
Testing GUI. More...
Test Methods. More...
Test Reviews. More...
Weekly Status Report
Sample. More...
Stocking and Managing a Test Lab.
More...
Key QA Documents. More...
Improving the Quality process by
doing the
Metrics Calculation
Download
Documentation Tips. More...
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More Resources
Some templates that
you will find useful
during the development
of your software product.
More...
When is a test plan
to complicated
by Charles Shelby. More...
Test Development
Life Cycle. More...
Test Plan Outline. More...
The test specification should
explain "how" to implement
the test cases described in the test plan. More...
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Try our bug tracking system. We would
also appreciate your feedback and comments. More...
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Most software projects fail to deliver on-time and
on-budget. To reduce the risk of failure, project managers should implement measurements, allowing them to more
accurately estimate projects and to enhance the quality of releases.
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| Best Practices for Software Projects - Software
Measurements |
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The key to efficient measurement is to first determine
what goals you are trying to accomplish and what problems you are attacking. Many organizations waste time and
money by measuring more things than are necessary. Before beginning a measurement strategy, determine the goals
for your measurement. Here are some common reasons for not delivering on-time and on-budget:
-Software coding efforts are not properly estimated
-Testing efforts are not properly estimated
-Software quality is poor, therefore the testing duration is longer than need be
-Customer changes impact the software project, thereby extending the project dates
-Attacking the Common Problems
Software Coding Efforts are Not Properly
Estimated
This problem normally arises due
these issues:
-Customer Requirements - To properly estimate coding effort, you must create solid
customer requirements. The requirements must contain adequate detail to allow the programmers to create detailed
designs. From a measurement perspective, you should track the amount of time it takes to develop each customer
requirement. Track both estimated and actual hours so that you can use this information to improve future estimates.
-Detailed Designs - It is impossible to estimate coding effort without creating
a detailed design. The detailed design allows the developer to think through all the tasks that must be done to
deliver each requirement. From a measurement perspective, you should track the amount of time it takes to develop
each detailed design. Track both estimated and actual hours so that you can use this information to improve future
estimates.
Testing Efforts are Not Properly Estimated
This problem normally arises due these issues:
-Test Plans - Once the customer requirement and detailed design is created
and estimated, the test leader should create a detailed test plan that estimates the testing effort. This is done
by thinking through the test cases that will be created based on the requirement and design. From a measurement
perspective, you should track the amount of time it takes to develop each test plan. Track both estimated and actual
hours so that you can use this information to improve future estimates.
Software Quality is Poor
This problem normally arises due these issues:
-No Code Reviews - If regular code reviews are not done, there is a much
higher chance of delivering software with poor quality. For large projects, these problems are compounded over
time, so it is best to do code reviews early and often (at least weekly). From a measurement perspective, you should
track the amount of rework time required due to failed code reviews. This can aid you in planning for rework on
future projects.
-Failed Smoke Tests - By running weekly smoke tests, you can shorten the testing
phase as issues are caught early in the coding and testing cycle. From a measurement perspective, track the number
of test cases passed and failed during smoke tests, week by week. The goal is to reduce the number of failed test
cases as the project progresses.
-Defect Tracking - As testing commences, track the number of open defects
vs. total defects to help predict project release dates. Track the number of defects found during code reviews
vs. test case execution. This will help track and improve estimation accuracy. Track the percentage of total
defects before product release, as this will help assess product quality.
Customer Changes Impact the Software
Project
This problem normally arises due these issues:
-Missing Change Control Processes - As a project progresses, clients sometimes ask for features
to be changed or for features to be added or removed. Before making any changes to the project, each request should
be thoroughly investigated and a risk assessment should be done for each request. If changes are necessary and
agreed upon by the client, project timelines are adjusted. From a measurement perspective, track the number of
change requests, how many were approved vs. rejected, and the effort for estimating reviewing and assessing each
change request. This information can be used in future projects to predict the number number of change requests
that are approved and estimated as to build time into your projects to mitigate that risk.
A solid tool for this is Software
Planner. More...
Implementing measurements can improve your software quality and prepare your team for delivering on-time and on-budget.
Below are some helpful templates to aid you in developing software solutions on-time and on-budget:
Release Package. More...
Test Cases Sample. More...
Test Matrices Sample. More...
Test Plan Sample. More...
Test Case Design. More...
Weekly Status Report Sample. More...
Stocking and Managing a Test Lab.
More...
Key QA Documents. More...
 Share your thoughts on Best Practices for Software Projects
- Estimating in SQAtester Group.
 E-mail to a Friend.
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Using Online Tools
The project software life cycle can be greatly improved
by managing all phases of the software life cycle online. A web-based tool can sometimes be easiest to use, as
it requires no client configuration. There are many solutions to choose from, consider Defect Tracker or Software Planner, depending on your needs. What ever tool you select should
have the ability to collect metrics (like number of defects over time, etc.) without much extra effort on your
part. Both of the products mentioned have this capability. More...
The tool you select should also allow you to create your own custom lists of information. This is especially important
as to allow you to create your own screens to track measurements for each area of the system you wish to track
measurements for. Defect Tracker and Software Planner both have a List Manager feature that allows you to create
custom screens to track anything you like. You can use that to track your measurements. More...
Try Software Planner FREE for 2 weeks.
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| Books to Read |
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Quality Web Systems
This book provides a framework for ensuring that key Web system success criteria are addressed during the development
of a Web system. Detailed technical guidance is provided for all criteria, along with testing strategies that allow
for verification of a quality implementation. More...
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Automated Software Testing
Written for those with some background in software engineering, Automated Software Testing: Introduction, Management,
and Performance delivers a rigorous guide to the state of the art in managing automated testing in a text that
will benefit anyone who tests software for a living. More...
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