Using the GQM Paradigm to build a Product Testing Metrics Framework
The GQM (Goal, Question. Metric) Paradigm is an approach developed by Victor Basili in the 1980s as a three level measurement model to arrive at metrics from business goals to drive decisions. Since then, GQM has proven to be an extremely effective approach to selecting and implementing metrics in many organizations.
In a software product development environment, product testing plays a key role in ensuring that customers get a high quality product on time. To ensure that this goal is met, it is essential to measure the health of the product through the product development life cycle progressively and use the data from such measurements to make crucial decisions relating to the product release. Product test managers often have to answer several key questions relating to
Progress and completeness of testing
Efficacy of test processes used
The quality and reliability of the product under test
Balancing the risk of releasing the product with known quality with the risk of losing the market window, by delaying the release to improve quality
The predicted reliability of the product in the field, and so on.
