SOFTWARE PHYSICS MEASURES OF PROGRESS

THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP A SOFTWARE PHYSICS-BASED MANAGEMENT INDICATOR FOR USE IN ASSESSING THE STATUS OF AND GAINING INSIGHT INTO THE PROGRESS OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENTS BEING DONE BY CONTRACTORS FOR THE U.S. NAVY. THE INDICATORS WILL BE BASED UPON EMPIRICAL DATA CAPTURED FROM ON-GOING AND COMPLETED WEAPON SYSTEM PROJECTS. THE INDICATORS WILL BE DESIGNED TO COMPLEMENT SIMILAR INDICATORS WHICH RELY ON EARNED VALUE AND SOFTWARE QUALITY METRICS. THE INDICATORS WILL ALSO BE COMPATIBLE WITH THE COMMONLY USED SOFTWARE COST ESTIMATING MODELS SO THAT COSTAND SCHEDULE-TO-COMPLETE EXERCISES CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED USING CURRENTLY AVAILABLE PACKAGES. THIS PHASE I PROPOSAL WILL ESTABLISH THE MATHEMATICAL FOUNDATION FOR THE INDICATORS. IT WILL ALSO PROVIDE A PLAN WHEREBY A RAPID PROTOTYPE OF A TOOL TO MECHANIZE THE INDICATOR WILL BE DEVELOPED AS PART OF A FOLLOW-ON PHASE II SBIR EFFORT.