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INCOSE Measurement Tools Survey
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INCOSE Measurement Tools Survey Response: PSM Insight 4.2.2

Measurement Working Group Primer references (ref.) are shown where applicable.

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)
Yes.

1.2 Can the tool quantify process improvements? (ref. Primer section 4.1.2)
Yes.

1.3 Does the tool support estimation and prediction for project planning? (ref. Primer section 4.1.3).
Yes.

1.4 Does the tool support distribution of measurement information for organizational status and feedback? (ref. Primer section 4.1.4)
Yes.

1.5 Does the tool allow measurement to be tailored for specific organizational units (OU)? [I.e. projects, departments, programs, etc…]
Yes.

1.6 Does the tool provide a mechanism for establishing "core" measures?
Yes.

 

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? Does the tool provide a mechanism to specify attributes of measures?
Yes.

2.1.2 Does the tool support the identification of project issues and measurement goals?
Yes.

2.1.3 Does the tool allow specification of measurement characteristics, including data source, data validity rules, collection method, temporal constraints and interpretive guidelines?
Yes.

2.2 Data Collection Method (ref. Primer Section 3.1.2)

2.2.1 Does the tool perform validation of collected measurement data?
Yes.

2.2.2 Does the tool provide a means for manual data entry?
Yes.

2.2.3 Does the tool provide a means for automated data collection?
Yes.

2.2.4 Does the tool provide a mechanism for the user to tailor the tool for automated collection from user-defined data sources?
Partially.

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?
Yes.

2.3.2 Does the tool allow specification of weights or normalization factors to be used in combining measures into indicators?
Yes.

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?
Yes.

2.4.2 Does the tool support statistical process control calculations including control charts and upper, lower and center line calculation?
Partially.

2.4.3 Does the tool provide a means for comparing actual measured data to planned, target or historical values?
Yes.

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?
Yes.

2.5.2 Present measurement data appropriate for the role of the user accessing the tool, where roles are analyst, OU manager or customer?
Yes.

2.5.3 Does the tool allow the user to customize the generation of reports, including adding, modifying and deleting reports?
Yes.

2.5.4 Does the tool provide an mechanism for distributing measurement reports?
Yes.

2.5.5 Does the tool support the distribution of measurement reports via the Internet or Intranet?
Yes.

 

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)
Partially.

3.2 Does the tool provide automation for a measurement process plan? (ref. Primer Section 3.2.2).
Yes.

3.3 Does the vendor identify the resources required to setup, operate and maintain the tool? (ref. Primer Section 3.2.3).
Yes.

3.4 Does the vendor provide training for all aspects of tool? (ref. Primer Section 3.2.4)
Yes.

3.5 Does the tool provide a repository for capturing organizational measurement process best practices? (ref. Primer Section 3.2.6)
Yes.

 

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?
Yes. Microsoft Access & Excel; ASCII, dBase, and Paradox.

4.1.2 Does the tool provide export capabilities to popular file formats and tool interfaces? Which ones?
Yes. Microsoft Access & Excel; ASCII, dBase, Paradox, HTML, and rtf.

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?
Partially. Microsoft Access & Excel.

4.2 Does the tool provide a security mechanism for restricting access to the repository data?
No.

 

5 System Environment

5.1 Single user/multiple concurrent users. Does the tool support a single user or multiple concurrent users?
Partially. The databases that you build with PSM Insight can be shared on a network drive by many users.

5.2 Multiple Platforms/Operating Systems: On which platforms and operating systems does the tool run?
All Windows operating systems.

5.3 Commercial vs. unique database. Does the tool use a proprietary or commercially available database?
Commercial.

5.4 Resource requirements (Please identify hardware/software configuration requirements):
5.4.1. Memory (RAM) requirements (MB): Not provided.
5.4.2. CPU requirements (microprocessor): Pentium
5.4.3. Disk space requirements (MB): 40 Mb or higher

 

6 Support and maintenance

6.1 Warranty: Does the tool have a warranty, if so what is it?
No.

6.2 Network license policy: Does the tool support network licensing (floating, node locked, etc.), if so which license manager is used (ex. FLEXlm)?
No.

6.3 Maintenance and upgrade policy: How often are software updates released; are updates separately priced items, etc.?
Annually. The PSM Insight tool is free.

6.4 Recommended training time: What is the recommended training time for a user to become proficient in using the tool?
8-10 hours.

6.5 Online help: Are the users manuals online, is there online help with the tool?
Yes. The tool comes with extensive context-sensitive help, a computer-based tutorial, and User's Manual.

6.6 Internet access/World Wide Web home page location: Does the tool supplier have an Internet e-mail address or World Wide Web home page location? If so, what is the Uniform Resource Locator (URL)?
Yes. http://www.psmsc.com

6.7 Phone support: What type of phone support is available from the tool supplier?
410-647-9284, Option #1

6.8 E-mail support: What type of e-mail support is available from the tool supplier?
Send email to psm@pica.army.mil or psmsupport@psmsc.com.

 

7 What other features do you, as a tool supplier, think are important?

PSM Insight (PSMI) is a free measurement software tool that implements the complete PSM process. PSM Insight includes tailoring, data entry, and analysis functions to help you develop a project-specific software measurement database and analyses. While PSM Insight provides templates of commonly-used issues and measures, it is also completely flexible for you to customize analysis to project-specific needs.

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Last Modified: 16 May 2005