International Council on Systems Engineering

INCOSE Measurement Tools Survey
INCOSE | TDWG Home | Tools Database: RM SA Measurement General

Welcome to the INCOSE Measurement Tools Survey site, sponsored by the Tools Database Working Group. The Tools Database Working Group consists of both tool users and tool suppliers who are interested in the use of technology to enable Systems Engineering. The TDWG began gathering information on Measurement tools in the late 1990's. Working with the INCOSE Measurement Working Group, they developed the survey questions for Measurement tools found here. The Measurements Working Group Primer references are shown where applicable; additional information about the Primer is available on the INCOSE products page. The survey responses, including the rating of compliance with each questions or feature, are provided by the tool vendors directly. However, the TDWG reserves the right to review and correct any "informational injustices" (i.e. exaggerated answers). Please report any bugs or enhancement suggestions to the Tools Database Working Group chair at tdwg-info@incose.org. Your feedback is appreciated. Please encourage any vendor whose tool is not yet included in the survey database to participate by sending them a link to this website.

Disclaimer: The Measurement tools and associated survey responses are provided for informational purposes only to INCOSE members and other members of the systems engineering community. There is no intent by INCOSE to endorse any tool listed or discredit any tool not listed. The information shown has NOT been verified by INCOSE as to its accuracy or validity and therefore all users are cautioned to use at their own discretion. INCOSE cannot be held accountable for any interpretations, liabilities or damages that may occur should any of the provided data be inaccurate, misstated, or in any other way misrepresent its correct status. All users are encouraged to conduct their own verification of the data prior to its use. Reliance or use of the information shown here is solely at the user's own risk.

Using the Survey: The following table contains clickable links to vendor's contact information (click on a vendor's column header)  and particular vendor responses to a given question (click on applicable row and column). The Vendor List provides contact information for vendors who have responded to the survey. Note: An ! indicates explanation available or question requires explanation.

Vendors: You are responsible for the accuracy of your responses. If you would like to add your tool to this survey OR update your contact information/survey responses, submit your information to the TDWG using this survey worksheet; please be sure to complete the Contact Info sheet and clearly indicate updates to existing information where appropriate to expedite the update process.

DataDrill
3.0.01
PSM Insight
4.2.2
TychoMetrics 3.6 &
TychoMetrics.NET 1.1
1 Measurement Objectives (ref. Primer Section 4)
1.1 Can the tool monitor and control on-going product and services? (ref. Primer section 4.1.1) Full Full Full
1.2 Can the tool quantify process improvements? (ref. Primer section 4.1.2) Full Full Full
1.3 Does the tool support estimation and prediction for project planning? (ref. Primer section 4.1.3) Full Full Full
1.4 Does the tool support distribution of measurement information for organizational status and feedback? (ref. Primer section 4.1.4) Full Full Full
1.5 Does the tool allow measurement to be tailored for specific organizational units (OU)? [i.e. projects, departments, programs, etc…] Full Full Full
1.6 Does the tool provide a mechanism for establishing "core" measures? Full Full Full
2 Measurement Process
2.1 Selection and Specification of Measures / Indicators (ref. Primer Section 3.1.1)
2.1.1 Does the tool support the definition of measures and indicators for each OU being measured? Provides a mechanism to specify attributes of measures? Full Full Full
2.1.2 Does the tool support the identification of project issues and measurement goals? Full Full Full
2.1.3 Does the tool allow the specification of measurement characteristics, including data source, data validity rules, collection method, temporal constraints and interpretive guidelines? Full Full Full
2.2 Data Collection Method (ref. Primer Section 3.1.2)
2.2.1 Does the tool perform validation of collected measurement data? Full Full Full
2.2.2 Does the tool provide a means for manual data entry? Full Full Full
2.2.3 Does the tool provide a means for automated data collection? Full Full Full
2.2.4 Does the tool provide a mechanism for the user to tailor the tool for automated
collection from user-defined data sources?
Full Partial Full
2.3 Calculation Method: Getting from Measures to Indicators (ref. Primer Section 3.1.3)
2.3.1 Does the tool allow measurement data to be combined into complex measures or indicators? Full Full Full
2.3.2 Does the tool allow specification of weights or normalization factors to be used in combining measures into indicators? Full Full Full
2.4 Analysis of the Measures or Indicators (ref. Primer Section 3.1.4)
2.4.1 Does the tool support the review and analysis of measurement data? Full Full Full
2.4.2 Does the tool support statistical process control calculations including control charts and upper, lower and center line calculation? Full Partial Full
2.4.3 Does the tool provide a means for comparing actual measured data to planned, target or historical values? Full Full Full
2.5 Reporting and Using the Results (ref. Primer Section 3.1.5)
2.5.1 Does the tool present measurement data consistent with the needs of differing organizational or management levels? Full Full Full
2.5.2 Present measurement data appropriate for the role of the user accessing the tool, where roles are analyst, OU manager or customer? Full Full Full
2.5.3 Does the tool allow the user to customize the generation of reports, including adding, modifying and deleting reports? Full Full Full
2.5.4 Does the tool provide an mechanism for distributing measurement reports? Full Full Full
2.5.5 Does the tool support the distribution of measurement reports via the Internet or Intranet? Full Full Full
3 Measurement Program Infrastructure
3.1 Does the tool allow identification and tracking of management commitment to the measurement process? (ref. Primer Section 3.2.1) Full Partial Full
3.2 Does the tool provide automation for a measurement process plan? (ref. Primer Section 3.2.2) Full Full Full
3.3 Does the vendor identify the resources required to setup, operate and maintain the tool? (ref. Primer Section 3.2.3) Full Full Full
3.4 Does the vendor provide training for all aspects of tool? (ref. Primer Section 3.2.4) Full Full Full
3.5 Does the tool provide a repository for capturing organizational measurement process best practices? (ref. Primer Section 3.2.6) Full Partial Full
4 Computing Support
4.1 Measurement Database
4.1.1 Does the tool provide import capabilities from popular file formats and tool interfaces? Which ones? Full Full Full
4.1.2 Does the tool provide export capabilities to popular file formats and tool interfaces? Which ones? Full Full Full
4.1.3 Does the tool support access to measurement repository by other commercial tools (I.e. for data mining, statistical analysis tools, reporting tools, …) Which ones? Full Partial Full
4.2 The tools provides a security mechanism for restricting access to the repository data? Full None Full
5 System Environment
5.1 Support a single user or multiple concurrent users? Full Partial Full
5.2 Which platforms and operating systems does the tool run on?   !    !    ! 
5.3 Does the tool use a proprietary or commercially available database?   !    !    ! 
5.4 Please identify hardware/software configuration requirements:   !    !    ! 
6 Support and Maintenance
6.1 Warranty. Does the tool have a warranty? If so, what is it? Full None   ! 
6.2 Network license policy. Does the tool support network licensing (floating, node locked, etc.), if so, which license manager is used (ex. FLEXlm)?   !  None   ! 
6.3 Maintenance and upgrade policy.  How often are software updates released; are updates separately priced items, etc.?   !    !    ! 
6.4 Recommended training time.  What is the recommended training time for a user to become proficient in using the tool?   !    !    ! 
6.5 Online help. Are the users manuals online, is there online help with the tool?   !    !    ! 
6.6 If available, provide an Internet e-mail address and/or website address:   !    !    ! 
6.7 Phone support.  What type of phone support is available from the tool supplier?   !    !    ! 
6.8 E-mail support.  What type of e-mail support is available from the tool supplier?  !   !   ! 
7 What other features do you, as a tool supplier, think are important?   !   !    ! 
8 Vendor Contact Info   !   !    ! 

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Last Modified: 16 May 2005