ISBSG Resources
ISBSG has a wealth of resources (i.e. reports, articles, conference papers and videos) on a wide range of software management topics. These topics include: productivity, planning and estimation, benchmarking, agile, maintenance and support, project control, outsourcing and sizing your project.
ISBSG resources are written by IT and metrics professionals, who are leaders in their field of expertise.
ISBSG Webinars
ISBSG WebinarsISBSG webinars are presented by guest speakers who share their expertise in software metrics. Choose from our list below.
Software Metrics Supports Business Decisions
Ultimately, measuring performance in agile teams is about: supporting continuous improvement, making informed decisions, ensuring value delivery and fostering a collaborative and learning-oriented culture. By correctly using the right metrics, organizations can empower their agile teams to thrive and deliver exceptional results.
Effort Estimation
There are two fundamental approaches to support software project’s effort and cost estimation: parametric cost models and analogy-based processes. The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a planning tool, often poorly used to support such crucial needs. We must clearly identify, in the WBS, the activities covered by the parametric models and those should be estimated as a result of the expert judgement. The presentation will focus on analyzing these aspects by presenting good and bad practices in the use of these support techniques.
Agile Team Performance Benchmarking
While traditional performance metrics often measure individual output or adherence to pre-defined plans, measuring performance in agile teams requires a different approach. Agile teams operate in iterative cycles, prioritizing adaptability and learning over rigid goals. Organizations still measure their performance for the following reasons: transparency and communication, learning and continuous improvement and ensuring value delivery.
How ISBSG Data Supports Output-Based Contracting
/in agileIn 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
/in agileAiming 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
/in agileThe 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 agileIn 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
/in productivityThe 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
/in benchmarkingISBSG’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