The use of process metrics to evaluate product development projects

Abstract

Product development success is an important strategic factor in today's business environment. The ability to accurately predict the outcome of product development projects would be a useful strategic tool. This research will use a product development process assessment survey called "Perform" to evaluate project success and also evaluates the effectiveness of the "Perform" survey. Two abilities of the survey are evaluated. The first is the consistency of the responses from different members of the development team. The second is the ability of the survey to predict the outcome of the project. The survey is evaluated by applying the survey to two projects that have been completed. The results of each respondent are compared for consistency. The results of the project are also compared to the results of the survey to gauge the predictive ability of the survey. Perform was found to provide fairly consistent responses from members of the development team. The survey did a good job of predicting project outcome.