Towards a suite of software configuration management metrics

Abstract

Software Configuration Management (SCM) is an important support activity in software development. However, its transparent nature as a service that makes life easier for others and as an insurance against disasters, often makes it difficult to justify investments in tools and processes that apparently do not have any direct return. We have made a first step towards establishing a model for showing the return on investment in SCM, making the costs and benefits explicit. In this paper, we also sketch how we plan to take the next important step and establish a set of metrics that can be used to manage and tune the SCM processes and tools.