Applied Statistics for Software Managers (Software Quality Institute Series) - Softcover

Maxwell, Katrina D.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0130417890 ISBN 13: 9780130417893

Publisher: Prentice Hall, 2002

Synopsis

Statistical techniques offer immense value to managers and developers who want to maximize quality and efficiency throughout the entire software lifecycle. Finally, there's a guide to using statistical techniques to solve specific software productivity and maintenance problems. Using actual software product data, one of the field's leading experts leads you through every step of the statistical analysis, helping you avoid pitfalls and extract all the value your data has to offer. Katrina Maxwell begins by outlining an intelligent methodology and an exclusive set of "recipes" for analyzing software project data, showing how to answer crucial questions without "getting lost in the data." Starting with actual software project data, organized in a database, Maxwell walks through the entire analysis process, explaining essential techniques such as correlation, regression, and analysis and variance. Along the way, Maxwell presents four real-world case studies focused on the key tasks software project managers face: improving productivity, optimizing time to market, building software development cost models, and identifying software maintenance cost drivers. For all managers, developers, and researchers who want to apply statistical methods to improving the efficiency and quality of their software projects.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

The easy, complete guide to statistical methods for software project management and process improvement.

• Use statistics to maximize software process quality
• Get results without extensive mathematical experience
• Learn from detailed case studies how to identify key factors that influence:
• Project productivity
• Time to market
• Development effort
• Maintenance cost

Statistical techniques offer immense value to managers and developers who want to maximize quality and efficiency throughout the entire software lifecycle. Now there's a guide to using statistical techniques to solve specific software productivity, time-to-market, and maintenance problems. Using actual software project data, Katrina D. Maxwell leads you through every step of the statistical analysis, helping you avoid pitfalls and extract all the value your data has to offer.

You don't need a mathematical background! Maxwell presents an easy-to-follow methodology for analyzing software project data―showing you how to answer crucial questions without getting lost in the data! You'll master statistics through four real-world case studies that address the core issues facing every software manager:

• Evaluating and improving productivity
• Assessing and reducing time to market
• Understanding and minimizing development costs
• Identifying software maintenance cost drivers-and ameliorating them

Along the way, Maxwell clearly explains each core tool of statistical analysis for software management. You won't just understand regression, correlation, ANOVA, and other key techniques, you'll discover exactly how to make the most of them in your projects!

Software Quality Institute Series

About the Author:

KATRINA D. MAXWELL, Ph.D., a leading international expert in the area of software development productivity, is currently a Partner at Datamax in Fontainebleau, France, specializing in software metrics research, data analysis, and productivity benchmarking. Dr. Maxwell has taught courses in business math and statistics at several academic institutions. She has published research in IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, IEEE Software, and Management Science.

About this edition

• Publisher: Prentice Hall
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0130417890
• ISBN 13: 9780130417893
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 350