Value‐oriented quality metrics in software development: Practical relevance from a software engineering perspective

Abstract

When following the principles of value-based software engineering, business, customer satisfaction, and engineering considerations need to be balanced to develop and operate the software so that it satisfies the different stakeholders' expectations. This, however, requires knowing the relevant quality metrics covering these value-oriented expectations and potential sources for their measurement. In this work, a categorisation of value-oriented quality metrics that are practically relevant is presented. Therefore, the authors conducted an online survey with practitioners who assessed the relevance of 61 value-oriented metrics, gathered from a preceding systematic mapping study. The authors grouped these metrics into 10 categories, based on financial, customer satisfaction, value proposition, and creation perspectives. Also, the authors examined the frequency of particular steps at which these measures accrue and identified their most relevant data sources. The participants rated metrics for feature reliability, performance, as well as test and development efficiency as most relevant for value orientation. According to the participants, the authors' collection covers all relevant metrics for addressing financial and market and feature usability aspects. The authors' categorisation and the metrics' relevance assessments shall support software engineers in selecting relevant metrics and their sources for software product development.