QW2002 Paper 9P2 Mr. Cem Kaner (Florida Institute of Technology) Measuring the effectiveness of software testers

Key Points

• Measures of individual performance are often dysfunctional
• In many companies, we have to measure individual performance
• Some combinations of measures might do more good than harm

Presentation Abstract

The Software Test Managers Roundtable (STMR) meets twice a year to discuss issues of interest to experienced test managers. The May 2002 meeting discussed measurement of the effectiveness of software testers. This talk reports ideas from that meeting.

We will look at several examples of dysfunctional approaches to employee measurement, why they are dysfunctional, and how you might explain to your management that they are best left unused. We will also look at examples of multi-dimensional approaches that different test managers have found useful, asking why they were useful and how you might apply the ideas underlying them to your job. Finally, we'll note that much employee performance "measurement" is qualitative and interactive. Some managers operate by discussion and demonstration, much more than by the numbers. We'll discuss some of the interactions that some people have found effective.

About the Author

Cem Kaner is Professor of Computer Sciences at the Florida Institute of Technology. Prior to joining Florida Tech, Kaner worked in Silicon Valley for 17 years, doing and managing programming, user interface design, testing, and user documentation. He is the senior author (with Jack Falk and Hung Quoc Nguyen) of TESTING COMPUTER SOFTWARE (2nd Edition) and (with David Pels) of BAD SOFTWARE: WHAT TO DO WHEN SOFTWARE FAILS.

Through his consulting firm, KANER.COM, he teaches courses on black box software testing and consults to software publishers on software testing, documentation, and development management. Kaner is also the co-founder and co-host of the Los Altos Workshop on Software Testing, the Software Test Managers' RoundTable, the Workshop on Heuristic & Exploratory Techniques, and the Florida Workshops on Model-Based Testing.

Kaner is also attorney whose practice is focused on the law of software quality. He is active (as an advocate for customers, authors, and small development shops) in several legislative drafting efforts involving software licensing, software quality regulation, and electronic commerce. Kaner holds a B.A. in Arts & Sciences (Math, Philosophy), a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology (Human Perception & Performance: Psychophysics), and a J.D. (law degree). He is Certified in Quality Engineering by the American Society for Quality.