The Expert Witness and the Applications of Science and of Art to Human Identification, Criminal Investigation, Civil Actions

Excerpt from The Expert Witness and the Applications of Science and of Art to Human Identification, Criminal Investigation, Civil Actions IN some respects this book may be regarded as a sequel to my Science and the Criminal, part of which was also concerned with the problems of circumstantial proof, but in its more restricted field its scope is wider, since it discusses not only the methods of scientific proof, but also specialised evidence of every kind. Although the word expert is tending to fall into disuse in America, there is no word in this country which quite covers the same ground, for it connotes a special form of evidence, which, by the way, may be far from justifying its description of expert in the sense of skilled. The book owes much to the kindness of those who have allowed me to make use of their material and illustrations. In particular, I wish to thank Messrs. Wilder and Wentworth, and their publisher, Mr. R. Badger, for the readiness with which they gave me permission to quote from their standard work Personal Identification, and also for various communications and photographs which they have sent me privately. On writing the chapter on Experts in Art, I have been indebted to Major Kaye for the loan of the blocks of radiographs of Old Masters, which he kindly put at my disposal. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at(http://www.forgottenbooks.com) www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

PSM provides you with a way to realize the significant benefits of a software measurement program, while understanding and avoiding the risks involved with a “blind jump.” You’ll find this book a worthwhile starting point for your future software measurement initiatives, as well as a source of continuing guidance as you chart your way through the sea of complex opportunities ahead.
—Barry Boehm, from the Foreword

Objective, meaningful, and quantifiable measurement is critical to the successful development of today’s complex software systems. Supported by the U.S. Department of Defense and a rapidly increasing number of commercial practitioners, Practical Software Measurement (PSM) is a process for designing and implementing a project-based software measurement program. PSM provides essential information on scheduling, resource allocation, and technological performance. It enables software managers and developers to make decisions that will affect the project’s outcome positively.

This book is the official, definitive guide to PSM written by the leaders of the PSM development initiative. It describes the principles and practices for developing, operating, and continuously improving your organization’s measurement program. It uses real-world examples to illustrate practical solutions and specific measurement techniques. This book examines the foundations of a software measurement program in depth, defining and prioritizing information needs, developing a project-specific information model, tailoring a process model to integrate measurement activities, and analyzing and understanding the results.

Specific topics include:

• The relationship between project- and organizational-level measurement
• Defining an information-driven, project-specific measurement plan
• Performing measurement activities and collecting data
• The basics of data analysis, including estimation, feasibility analysis, and performance analysis
• Evaluating the effectiveness of the measurement processes and activities
• Sustaining organizational commitment to a measurement program
• Key measurement success factors and best practices

In addition, this book includes numerous detailed examples of measurement constructs typically applied to software projects, as well as two comprehensive case studies that illustrate the implementation of a measurement program in different types of projects. With this book you will have the understanding and information you need to realize the significant benefits of PSM as well as a guide for a long-term, organization-wide measurement program.

PSM is founded on the contributions and collaboration of key practitioners in the software measurement field. The initiative was established in 1994 by John McGarry and is currently managed by Cheryl Jones. Both are civilians employed by the U.S. Army. David Card is an internationally known software measurement expert, and is with the Software Productivity Consortium. Beth Layman, Elizabeth Clark, Joseph Dean, and Fred Hall have been primary contributors to PSM since its inception.

0201715163B10012001

This book examines in depth the foundations of a software measurement program: defining and prioritizing information needs, developing a project-specific information model, tailoring a process model to integrate measurement activities, and analyzing and understanding the results.

COVER......Page 1 CONTENTS......Page 6 FOREWORD......Page 10 PREFACE......Page 14 Chapter 1 MEASUREMENT: KEY CONCEPTS AND PRACTICES......Page 20 1.1 Motivation for Measurement......Page 21 1.2 Measurement as an Organizational Discriminator......Page 23 1.3 The Foundation—Project Measurement......Page 24 1.4 What Makes Measurement Work......Page 25 1.5 Measurement Information Model......Page 27 1.6 Measurement Process Model......Page 29 Chapter 2 MEASUREMENT INFORMATION MODEL......Page 32 2.1 Information Needs......Page 34 2.2 Measurement Construct......Page 36 2.3 Measurement Construct Examples......Page 45 Chapter 3 PLAN MEASUREMENT......Page 50 3.1 Identify and Prioritize Information Needs......Page 52 3.2 Select and Specify Measures......Page 58 3.3 Integrate the Measurement Approach into Project Processes......Page 67 Chapter 4 PERFORM MEASUREMENT......Page 78 4.1 Collect and Process Data......Page 80 4.2 Analyze Data......Page 84 4.3 Make Recommendations......Page 100 Chapter 5 ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES......Page 104 5.1 Estimation......Page 105 5.2 Feasibility Analysis......Page 123 5.3 Performance Analysis......Page 131 Chapter 6 EVALUATE MEASUREMENT......Page 144 6.1 Evaluate the Measures......Page 146 6.2 Evaluate the Measurement Process......Page 150 6.3 Update the Experience Base......Page 159 6.4 Identify and Implement Improvements......Page 160 Chapter 7 ESTABLISH AND SUSTAIN COMMITMENT......Page 162 7.1 Obtain Organizational Commitment......Page 163 7.2 Define Measurement Responsibilities......Page 165 7.3 Provide Resources......Page 166 7.4 Review the Measurement Program......Page 169 7.5 Lessons Learned......Page 170 Chapter 8 MEASURE FOR SUCCESS......Page 174 Appendix A: Measurement Construct Examples......Page 178 Milestone Completion......Page 180 Work Unit Progress—Software Design Progress......Page 182 Incremental Capability......Page 185 Personnel Effort......Page 187 Financial Performance—Earned Value......Page 190 Physical Size and Stability......Page 192 Functional Size and Stability......Page 195 Functional Correctness—Defects......Page 198 Functional Correctness—Defect Density......Page 201 Efficiency—Response Time......Page 203 Process Compliance......Page 205 Process Efficiency......Page 207 Technology Suitability......Page 210 Customer Feedback......Page 212 Appendix B: Information System Case Study......Page 216 B.1 Project Overview......Page 218 B.2 Getting the Project Under Control......Page 227 B.3 Evaluating Readiness for Test......Page 242 B.4 Installation and Software Support......Page 251 Product and Project Overview......Page 258 Estimation and Feasibility Analysis......Page 265 Performance Analysis......Page 270 Redesign and Replanning......Page 272 A......Page 278 E......Page 279 M......Page 280 S......Page 282 V......Page 283 BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 284 B......Page 288 E......Page 289 G......Page 290 M......Page 291 P......Page 293 S......Page 295 W......Page 296 As software becomes more prevalent in our society, the age-old challenge of meeting critical project cost, schedule, and technical objectives is greater than ever. Effective management of an organization's software development efforts has become key to the success of a project. This book was written to help meet today's most pressing software management challenges. Practical Software and System Measurement describes how to access and use objective information to address major software project issues, integrating new techniques into existing ones to insure project success and recognize better return on investment in software engineering.