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November 14, 2007
Nov 15th Cutter Webinar - Invitation Only
I'm excited... I just finished a walkthrough with Anne Mullaney, Group Publisher of Cutter Consortium, on a special webinar that we're running Thu Nov 15th at 11:30 am - 12:30 pm entitled, "Compared to What? A Look at Application Development Metrics". It's normally "invitation only" to the Cutter Consortium community.
Good news! Anne just told me that Cutter has agreed to allow us to make available special invitations to a select group of my clients and readers. We're going to feature highlights of the IT industry observations being published in the newly released "Cutter Benchmark Almanac, Application Development Series 2007-2008." This research report is the result of an exciting collaboration between Cutter and QSM, combining QSM's leading edge research on the software industry PLUS analysis by Cutter authors on topics like agile methods, risk management, software testing, outsourcing, and project estimation. These authors include [yours truly] as well as Tom DeMarco, Tim Lister, Elli Bennatan, Jim Highsmith, and others.
If you're part of our QSM and/or the OptimalFriction community, and are interested in one of these invites, email Sean Callaghan, who works with me in our QSM Associates office. Or call Michele Keegan at 413-499-0988. Perhaps we'll see you there!
Cheers, Michael
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Compared to What? A Look at Application Development Metrics - with Michael Mah
How much will your next software development project cost? How does that stack up to what organizations of similar size spend? How should you staff that project? What level of reliability should you expect? Cutter Consortium Senior Consultant Michael Mah along with his colleagues at QSM, Inc., has analyzed more than 500 IT projects in 16 countries across 16 industries in order to understand:
The required tradeoffs for achieving schedule compression
The duration, effort, and staffing levels of typical projects
The relationship between programming language, system size, software reuse, and productivity
Long term trend in the software industry
Best-in-class/worst in class performers
Discover the story the data tells, and how you can apply this knowledge to improve your organization's software development effectiveness, in this hour-long interactive webinar. Come prepared to answer poll questions such as:
What is the duration of your typical project?
How many staff months are required for a typical project?
What is the average number of defects found from integration to delivery?
You may be surprised when you realize how your organization compares to those projects included in QSM's research. It's this comparison that's so telling. You'll get insight into the question of how your projects behave in the context of the outside world.
Spend an hour with Michael Mah and understand how collecting metrics and benchmarking them against like companies can improve your chances of software development success.
Receive Answers to Your Specific Questions
The last 20 minutes of this webinar are devoted to a live Question & Answer session: Get your questions answered by Cutter Senior Consultant Michael Mah.
Register now!
To register, click here. Your webinar log-on instructions will be
e-mailed to your attention prior to the program date. If you have any questions, call +1 781 648 8700 or e-mail Client Services at ccs@cutter.com.
About Your Cutter Consortium Webinars
Cutter Consortium is committed to providing you with the most current IT solutions, best practices, and strategies on the topics you and your IT team are struggling with today. The Cutter Consortium Webinar series is provided to you as a value-added e-learning benefit to your Cutter subscription.
Pass This Invitation Along
Be sure to forward this Webinar invitation to appropriate senior IT leadership, IT and application development managers, and IT metrics professionals in your organization!
Can't Make the Live Event?
You won't miss out -- the recording will be added to the online resource center, along with the rest of our past events.
Posted by Mike at 04:15 PM | Comments (0)
Nov16th Webinar: Agile Productivity Levels at 5 Companies
Michael Milutis from Computer Aid Inc. emailed me a couple of days ago. He said that 180 people registered in just one day (a record) for a webinar that I'm presenting on Nov 16th entitled "Case Study: Agile Productivity Levels at 5 Companies." Total registrations are expected to exceed 500 (they're currently over 230).
If any of you would like to join us, click here and sign up. Below is the abstract for the talk. See you there! And Happy Halloween :)
[To read an interview that Michael published from our talk on "The State of IT Metrics Practice," click here and scroll down to the sixth entry.]
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Webinar - Case Study: Agile Productivity Levels at 5 Companies
Nov. 16th 2007, 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm Eastern
How effective are SCRUM/Agile/XP methodologies? No discussion of current software development fails to mention these techniques; but do they work? How can we tell? In this webinar, Michael Mah will provide answers to these questions. Through his extensive consulting work, Michael has benchmarked the metrics and results of companies using Agile methods and the results are now in. In this webinar, you will track how 5 companies, all ostensibly “agile,” produced a range of quantitative results and what were the resultant implications on time to market, staffing and quality. Join us for a thought-provoking, interactive, engaging look at the how’s, the whys and the conclusions about Agile development.
To register
Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www.gotomeeting.com/register/123110553
To See Our Entire Webinar Schedule, Please Visit our Main Webinar Page at: http://www.itmpi.org/webinars
Sponsor Companies
About CAI
CAI is a global IT outsourcing firm currently managing active engagements with over 100 Fortune 1,000 companies and government agencies around the world. CAI provides services and solutions that help organizations:
Track and measure the right activities in the IT function
Compare IT performance vs. benchmarked data
Optimize IT performance, using data to make decisions
Achieve double-digit % gains in IT productivity
Establish objective measures of IT worker performance
CAI makes this possible through the use of a unique, metrics based methodology along with a proprietary, real time data repository and management system (TRACER). You can visit CAI and learn more their offerings at http://www.compaid.com/
About The IT Metrics and Productivity Institute
The IT Metrics and Productivity Institute is an organization founded by CAI to improve the practice and management of software development and maintenance. The IT Metrics and Productivity Institute seeks to accomplish its mission through the promotion of best practices in the areas of Process, Metrics, Estimation, and IT Governance. The Institute runs a series of webinars every month and coordinates 30-50 software best practices conferences and workshops each year across North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. For more information about our conference schedule and conference programs, please visit our main events site at http://www.itmpi.org/events.
The IT Metrics and Productivity Institute also publishes a weekly eZine newsletter focusing on critical management issues in software development and maintenance. The IT Metrics and Productivity Journal provides readers with brief summaries of, and links to, valuable software management best practices resources. In addition, the IT Metrics and Productivity Journal features informative interviews with CIOs, thought leaders, and IT researchers from around the world.
Posted by Mike at 03:38 PM | Comments (0)
November 02, 2007
Global Rational Community Webinar Series - QSM
Exciting News! On Wednesday November 7th at 12noon, there will be a Webinar on the integration of IBM's Rational Portfolio Manager and the QSM SLIM-Estimate model. It will be directed by two of the best in our business: Douglas Putnam and Larry Putnam Jr., managing partners of our QSM Inc. office in McLean VA. If you'd like to join us for the event, details are as below. Contact Sean Callaghan at QSM Associates to register.
Date: 11/07/2007
Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm (GMT-05:00) Eastern Standard Time (America/New_York)
By: Global Rational Community(GRC)
Description: Project Planning with QSM SLIM Estimate and IBM Rational Portfolio Manager
In this webcast we will explore how proven estimation technologies can support project managers and their software planing processes. The first part of the webcast will provide an overview of the SLIM-Estimate software estimation methodology as implemented in the Rational Unified Process with Estimation, Measurement, and Control plug-in to IBM Rational Method Composer. Topics covered will include:
* Core set of software metrics
* Software Industry data and fundamental trends
* Software Production Equation
* Software Input assumptions - size and scope, productivity
* Evaluating alternative execution strategies and project goals
* How project estimates feed the project planning process
Next we will overview of the planning process implemented in IBM Rational Portfolio Manager, starting with proposal creation and showing the workflow of the approval process. Estimation tools are key to providing useful demand and resource management data.
Finally we will wrap up with a live demonstration of the automation to link estimates with project plans as implemented in QSM's SLIM-Estimate product and IBM Rational Portfolio Manager. The demonstration will show:
* Importing project templates from RPM into QSM's SLIM-Estimate product to establish base work breakdown structures to be used in the project estimate
* Generating estimates in SLIM-Estimate and evaluating estimation alternatives
* Validating estimates with historic data to assess risk
* Exporting detailed project estimates to Rational Portfolio Manager to support project manager's detail planning activities
Posted by Mike at 02:46 PM | Comments (0)