13 Planning a measurement program

13.6 Revising the plan

The measurement plan should be revisited periodically to decide if changes are in order:

• Are the goals the same? If the business goals have changed, then metrics program's goals may need to change with them.
• Are the priorities of the goals the same? As one type of improvement is implemented successfully, other types may be selected for the next initiative.
• Are the questions the same? Questions that are relevant for the first stages of a metrics program (such as, how much should we invest in metrics tools?) may be replaced by questions of maturation (such as, how much money and time are we saving by using metrics?).
• Are the metrics the same? As the process matures, the richness of the measurements increase. At the same time, some metrics may no longer be necessary to collect, and they may be replaced by new ones.
• Is the maturity the same? The development process itself may change dramatically over time. Each change has important implications for measurement, as even the type and magnitude of the change may be candidates for measurement.
• Is the audience the same? Many metrics programs start small, often as a pilot in a department or division, and expand to the corporation slowly and carefully. It is important for the measurement to change, too, to reflect the questions and interests of the changing audience.