What Metrics Do Software Development Managers Care About Most?

The performance of a software development team is often gauged by metrics that directly impact their bonus payments. Management focuses on metrics that can be expressed in monetary units, such as cost, productivity, and adherence to schedules. These metrics do not typically include more technical considerations like functional size, defect rates, or code coverage, which are important to software engineers but are often overlooked by managers.

The Core Metric: Meeting Release Dates with Quality

In most institutions, the ultimate measure of success for a development team is meeting the release date with quality. This singular metric often trumps all other considerations. Once the schedule is at risk, management starts evaluating factors like defect resolution rates, bug rejections, code coverage, team velocity, and individual work schedules.

Common Metrics and Their Impacts

Defect Arrival vs. Closure Rate: Tracking how quickly developers can fix bugs to ensure quality. Bug Kickback Rate: Identifying issues where developers assume they've fixed a defect, but QA/PE insists it hasn't been resolved. Code Coverage: Measuring lines of code tested by automated or manual testing, but often misunderstood by non-technical managers. Team Velocity: Comparing actual progress against estimated timelines, which can lead to resource-intensive configurations. Work Schedules and Timelines: Exercising detailed monitoring and logging of developer progress.

What They Should Be Tracking

While current practices fall short, there are better metrics for successful project outcomes:

User Story Changes in Implementation: How frequently user stories alter during development. New User Stories: Tracking the absorption of new stories after implementation begins. Backlog Prioritization: Frequency of changes in the prioritized backlog during sprints. Customer Support Impact: Estimating task completion dates affected by customer support issues. Bug Tracking Flags: Developers can mark defects as user stories for clarity. Developer Competencies: Regular assessment of developer strengths and assigning tasks accordingly.

Additional Tips from a Developer

Advice from someone who has experienced various practices:

Avoid Stand-Up Meetings: Management involvement can hinder development; collaborate wisely. No Individual Developer Status Requests: Seek project/team status from the lead instead. Cap Resource Planning: Plan no more than 60% of developer time to avoid unrealistic expectations.

In conclusion, success in software development is closely tied to meeting deadlines and maintaining quality. By focusing on key metrics and addressing common pitfalls, management can ensure that projects are completed effectively and efficiently.