Towards mature measurement programs

Many organizations are using measurement as a means to improve their software development and maintenance processes. A reasonable consensus has been reached about the main success factors for measurement programs. However no comprehensive approach has so far been published for the processes that need to be in place to ensure effective and efficient measurement. We propose a capability maturity model for measurement that can be used to both assess the measurement capability of software organizations and to identify directions for improvement of their measurement capability. This 'Measurement-CMM' originates from our efforts to establish measurement programs in a variety of settings. These efforts had mixed results, and our analysis thereof showed widely different measurement capabilities amongst the organizations involved. A measurement maturity scale similar to that of the Software-CMM allowed us to explain many of the differences observed. At the same time, it suggests ways to improve on this.