Codermetrics

Chapter 5. Response Metrics

The numbers either refute my thinking or support my thinking, and when there’s any question, I trust the numbers. The numbers don’t lie.

—Daryl Morey, general manager of the Houston Rockets, 2006–present

This chapter covers metrics that help you analyze the response, both positive and negative, for the software released by development teams. These metrics provide the basis to determine whether the software team is meeting team and organizational goals, and is thereby “winning” or “losing.” Included also are metrics that involve comparing results to key competitors.

Overall, these metrics are designed to be as straightforward and simple as possible. They are meant to be achievable, meaning that you can get the data and calculate them. And they are meant to be understandable, meaning that software team members can appreciate them and the relevance to their own work.

The Response Metrics show you how well and in what ways each project succeeded or failed. When examined side-by-side with a team’s Skill Metrics, you will be able to analyze which skills or combination of skills correlate with positive or negative results. If you are not already collecting the data for Response Metrics, it may seem more challenging than the work required to gather data for Skill Metrics. But the payoff comes in your ability to begin to see the patterns of success over time. Therefore, I strongly urge you to gather data and keep Response Metrics for your team.