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Collecting Data for Comparability:
Benchmarking Software Development Productivity 
 
K. Maxwell 
IEEE Software 
September-October 2001
 
Abstract
Whether you are benchmarking an organization, or simply a project, it all boils down to one thing – data. Do you have the necessary data in your company? Is the data valid and comparable? Can you get access to data from other organizations? In order to help you answer these questions and avoid some common serious mistakes in the benchmarking process, I’ve summarized my practical real-life experiences with software project data collection and benchmarking efforts in these  guidelines.
 
Full paper available [download pdf file].
 
Also of interest:
Benchmark your Software Development Productivity Online
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Software Metrics Research
 
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 Applied Statistics for Software Managers is the first complete guide to using statistical techniques to solve specific software development and maintenance problems. You don't need a mathematical background: Katrina Maxwell presents an easy-to-follow methodology and detailed case studies that show you exactly how to assess productivity, time to market, development effort and maintenance cost drivers. 
  
Book includes real software development and maintenance data from one bank. 
  
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