Quantify the Current State

Establishing a Baseline: Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment

An evaluation of the current state is essential to formulating an effective IT Management strategy. Whether outsourcing, re-sourcing, or seeking to improve in-house performance, a baseline must be established against which to measure performance. Agreement between customer and outsourced supplier on what exactly the portfolio comprises is an essential prequisite for a successful outsourcing partnership.

SMS measurement and analysis techniques enable you to obtain a comprehensive view of your organisation’s current state using appropriate benchmarking and process appraisal tools and techniques.

Few consultancies can provide both the breadth and depth of knowledge SMS is able to offer, supporting both quantitative assessments (benchmarks) and qualitative assessments of capability against standard models such as CMMI, ITIL, ISO, COBit etc.

Function point  measurement is a means of measuring the functional size of software - that is, the quantity of product to be delivered to the customer. Measuring Lines of Code is a more primitive way of measuring software size which is really not suitable for modern programming languages. LOC metrics are not able to measure non-coding activities such as requirements and design, nor the defects in such activities.

SMS considers Function Point measurement, in its various forms, to be the only sensible method of measuring and estimating the size of software and changes to software. SMS supports and employs the following three FPA methods all of which conform to the ISO Standard for the Functional Size Measurement of Software ISO/IEC 14143:1998. Each has approval as an ISO/IEC standard. COSMIC is the most recently developed functional sizing method (ISO/IEC 19761:2003) and is designed expressly for multi-layered architectures.

Benchmarking

SMS provides function point counting and analysis in support of the leading benchmarking companies. Using SMS expertise ensures that consistent data is collected and reviewed by experienced software measurement practitioners. The impact on existing staff and schedules is minimized.

The SMS Fast Data Collection Study exploits the specialist expertise of SMS consultants to enable us to complete data collection for a benchmark in 3-6 weeks rather than the typical 6-9 months. The benchmark data is thus a more relevant and useful indicator of the current state.

Grant Rule's analysis of Delivering Value from Benchmarking, is available in the Reference section of this site.

SMS also provides full UK consultancy support for the IT Optima benchmarking suite. The IT Optima Total IT Performance™ (TIP) is a tool for providing answers to crucial questions such as:

• Do we spend too much - or not enough - money on IT operations?
• Can we minimize our IT costs?
• How well could our IT system work?
• What should we do to optimize our IT system?
• How do we prioritize our initiatives to get increased value for money from our IT operations?
• How do our IT costs and IT performance compare to those in similar companies (the peer group)?

Capability Assessment

SMS offers assessment of the capabillity to develop, maintain and support systems based on or containing software. We use all the widely accepted Models, Standards and Methods, including CMMI ^®, ISO , ITIL and SPICE. We also provide auditing of in-house functional size measurement capabilities, e.g. Functional Sizing Audits, and a Document Discovery service to help find, collate and review documents, process and design assets.

We can provide training and appraisals through our partnerships with SEI Authorised Transition Partner, Ken Dymond of PTI Inc, SEI Authorised Trainer, Roger Gamage of CPIS Ltd., and Trinity Management Consultants. Click here for details of training courses in Assessing Capability.

Software Portfolio Sizing

Function Point Analysis ensures a consistent and methodical approach to the measurement of a software portfolio. SMS can also provide expert analysis and advice on the alignement and application of the software metrics to the business goals.

An informed approach to evaluating the software portfolio can be arrived at using the "4 Rs"

Retain - Rebuild - Refresh - Retire

Rapid Application Portfolio Sizing

Most business IT portfolios are larger than 100,000 function points (FP). To measure systems of this size would take a man-year of experienced function point analyst effort.

RAPS is a technique for providing a meaningful and economical solution to an otherwise near-impossible task. SMS FP analysts have achieved a counting rate of 6000 FP/day as opposed to the average rate of 500 FP/day. This gives a quick and objective view of the size of the portfolio to be managed, on which decisions about the strategic management of IT can be made.

A RAPS exercise delivers high-level documentation on the portfolio, which may not otherwise exist. Conducting a RAPS exercise prior to outsourcing often forces an organisation to define the portfolio for which the outsourced supplier is responsible, a vital but often overlooked factor in outsourcing agreements.

SMS acts as a Quantity Surveyor for software developers

"Quantity Surveyors control building costs by accurate measurement of the work required, the application of expert knowledge of costs and prices of work, labour, materials and plant required, an understanding of the implications of design decisions at an early stage to ensure that good value is obtained for the money to be expended." - Wikipedia definition of a quantity surveyor.