Call for conference presentations
The information below describes the requirements for papers submitted for the ISBSG Confidence Conference
Entries by ISBSG
Benchmarking Application Development Contracts
Currently, large enterprises increasingly rely on long-term outsourcing arrangements, potentially costing millions of dollars. In this environment, the customer often assesses “billable hours” rather than the “value created.” It can be difficult to determine if rising costs are the result of increasing scope or a reduced efficiency. To address this issue, organizations must shift to an objective, evidence-based approach. The benchmarking process uses a structured methodology that highlights expenditures into clear productivity metrics that can be compared against industry standards. Outsourcing contracts can then be transformed from financial burdens into high-performing partnerships, that ensure that the money spent is aligned with competitive, market-standard productivity.
How ISBSG Data Supports Output-Based Contracting
In the context of Agile application development, input-based Time & Materials (T&M) contracts are considered to be an industry “bad practice”. Payment for work is based upon the effort spent, rather than value delivered, potentially ignoring improvements in delivery speed and productivity. To overcome this issue, organizations are increasingly looking towards output-based contracting models that utilize objective, standardized metrics. By leveraging industry-recognized data from the ISBSG alongside frameworks such as the Dutch practice guideline NPR 5333 (output-based measurement, performance management and contracting), and Easy Functional Sizing (EFS), stakeholders can establish a “win-win” model based on transparency, fair risk-sharing, and clear, data-driven performance management.
Agile Teams Guide to Predictability
Aiming for high performance in Agile development often begins with the realization that team-specific metrics (e.g. story points) don’t sufficiently demonstrate true excellence. These measures assist with internal coordination, but lack the objective rigor required to prove that a team is delivering competitive value compared to industry standards.
By adopting standardized functional size measurement (e.g. Nesma, IFPUG, or COSMIC) and historical project data, development teams can finally quantify their output in a consistent, verifiable, and repeatable way. Teams can then move beyond subjectivity and instead use evidence-based indicators to prove their productivity.
The Benefits of Software Metrics for Scrum Masters
The use of functional size measurement and software metric data provide Scrum Masters with a more reliable indicator of their team’s performance and productivity. By comparison, Story Points may be useful for internal team coordination, but make it difficult to compare performance across different teams or against industry standards. This short report discusses how Scrum Masters benefit from using functional size and standardized metrics based on ISBSG data.
The Benefits of Software Metrics for Product Owners
In agile software development, the Product Owner is often caught between the pressure for rapid feature rollout and the need for realistic, data-backed forecasting. Relying on “gut feelings” or inconsistent team-specific metrics, such as story points, makes it nearly impossible to communicate value or manage stakeholder expectations . By adopting standardized functional size measurement (FSM), e.g., Nesma, IFPUG or COSMIC function points, in tandem with ISBSG benchmark data, Product Owners can finally speak a universal language of scope and performance.
Impact of AI on Productivity and Delivery Speed
The software development landscape has recently experienced rapid changes driven by the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. While AI can improve the speed and efficiency of development teams, it also has the potential to lower code quality. This short report uses the ISBSG Repository to determine the impact of AI on key metrics. Comparisons between pre-AI and post-AI data indicate whether the adoption of AI tools has led to positive improvements in the productivity and delivery speed of software projects.Â
Submit Data to ISBSG
ISBSG’s mission is: to support organizations and help them to improve the estimation, planning, control and management of IT software projects and/or maintenance and support contracts. ISBSG achieves its mission through the collection of data from software development, enhancement, and maintenance projects. This data is submitted to ISBSG by software metrics organizations worldwide. This short report explains how you can assist ISBSG in its support of the software industry. Learn how simple it is to submit your project data and to receive a free benchmark report, in appreciation for your submission.Â
Move High-Code to Low-Code
This short report examines a company’s business case to change the platform of their main system, from high-code to low-code. Current maintenance activities were considered, along with ongoing enhancements to the system. Productivity benchmarks from ISBSG Data Repositories were obtained for low-code projects. This enabled the calculation of potential productivity and cost gains from moving from high to low-code environments. Financial metrics, such as Payback Period, Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return are also calculated to support the company’s business case.