A Tool-based Methodology for Software Portfolio Monitoring

We present a tool-based methodology for monitoring the development and maintenance performed on the software portfolio of a large company. The toolkit on which the methodology is based includes an extendable framework for software analysis and visualization that meets strong demands with respect to scalability and usability. The methodology consists of 3 nested iterations and is carried out by software engineers with very strong consultancy skills. The shortest iteration consists in applying the toolkit to the software portfolio to obtain and register basic facts such as metrics and dependencies. In the middle iteration, the engineers interpret and evaluate the newly registered facts. The findings are reported to IT management together with recommendations about how to react to the findings. In particular, one kind of recommendation is to carry out a Software Risk Assessment on a selected system or project. Finally, the longest iteration is the publication of an annual software report, which summarizes the monitoring results of the previous year.