Transition Organization

Practical Software Measurement Support Center (PSMSC)

Representative Cheryl Jones
Address PSM Support Center
US Army ARDEC
AMSRD-AAR-QEW-D
Building 62
Picatinny Arsenal, NJ 07806-5000
Phone 973-724-2644, DSN 880
Fax 973-724-2382
Email PSM Support Center
Web Site http://www.psmsc.com
Qualified Instructors Joe Dean, Fred Hall, Paul Janusz, Cheryl Jones, Jack McGarry, Dave Morris, Molly Campbell
Instructor in Training  
TWG Members*  

Practical Software and Systems Measurement (PSM) is sponsored by the Department of Defense and the US Army (see Appendix A of the PSM Methods of Operation for all current sponsors). The goal of the project is to provide project managers with the objective information needed to successfully meet cost, schedule, and technical objectives on complex programs, and measure organizational performance. PSM is based on actual measurement experience from Department of Defense, government, and industry projects and organizations. Measurement professionals from a wide variety of organizations participate in the project. PSM represents the best measurement practices used within the system acquisition and engineering communities. PSM treats measurement as a flexible process – not a pre-defined list of graphs or reports. The process is adapted to address the specific management information needs, objectives, and information requirements unique to each project and organization.

Related Products and Services

PSM incorporates a family of products intended to help transition information-driven measurement into practice within both government and industry. PSM documents and the PSM Insight tool are available at no charge (except for a small production fee for multiple copies). The following PSM products have either been published or are in final form. For a detailed list of products, as well as other related information, refer to the PSM Marketing document.

PSM Products

  • Practical Software Measurement: Objective Information for Decision Makers, Addison-Wesley, 2002 (Version 5 of the guidance)
  • Practical Software and Systems Measurement Guidebook, Version 4.1
  • PSM Insight tool
  • PSM Training Material
  • PSM: Measuring for Process Management and Improvement (MPM)
  • Rational Unified Process (RUP) Plug-in for Practical Software and Systems Measurement
  • Experience Reports

PSM Services

  • PSM Briefings
  • PSM  Measurement Planning Workshops
  • PSM Training
  • PSM Consulting
  • Training in PSM Insight-One Tool for a Comprehensive Measurement Program
  • PSM Insight Consulting

Companies currently using PSM Insight include the U.S. Army Armament Research Development Engineering Center (ARDEC), Northrop Grumman (Baltimore), Lockheed Martin (Valley Forge), and Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC)

Other Related Products and Information

  • ISO/IEC Standard 15939, Systems and Software Engineering-Software Measurement Process
  • Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Measurement and Analysis (M&A) Process Area
  • ESx - ES is a tool that collects coupling, maintenance, and size metrics
  • Technology Papers (available on the PSM web site) include:
    • Measures for DoD Software Product Lines (April 2001 - final)
    • Measuring System Interoperability (Updated March 2001)
    • Object Oriented Measurement (Updated March 2001)
    • Measures in Support of Evolutionary Acquisition (Updated March 2001)
    • Safety Measurement White Paper
    • Security Measurement Draft White Paper
  • Measurement-Related Papers and Articles (available on the PSM web site) include:
    • Applying PSM to Enterprise Measurement
    • Making Measurement Work
    • Measurement Tailoring Workshops
    • Tailoring and Implementing an Organizational Measurement Process
    • Practical Software Measurement:  A Status Report
  • Sample Measurement Specifications

Click here for a list of Works in Progress.

The PSM Guidebook, PSM Insight tool, training materials/workshop materials (available for qualified instructors only), and supporting materials are available on the PSM web site or distributed on CD-ROM. The PSM book is available on Addison-Wesley’s web site: http://www.awprofessional.com
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*Not all of the TWG members from the organization are listed. Those listed have been significantly involved with the PSM project in the last 2 years and/or have been qualified to teach previous versions of PSM.

Click here for more information on Transition Organizations.