New Software Development Method Uses Rewards to Improve Quality of Code

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) September 6, 2009 --

Quality of Code (QoC) is an important factor in custom software development projects, but it is rarely used in commercial contracts due to the difficulty and ambiguity in calculating this indicator. A low QoC can result in an increase in post-delivery and maintenance problems. In response to this problem, TechnoPark Corp. has developed an automated mechanism that markedly reduces programmers’ lack of attention to QoC and results in higher quality code. Company director Yegor Bougaenko will discuss the method at the First International Conference on Advances in System Testing and Validation Lifecycle later this month.

The mechanism uses a system of rewards for programmers that produce high-quality code. Once programmers commit source code changes to the Subversion (SVN) repository, the project management software calculates the QoC metrics. Reward amounts are then based on the QoC metrics – the better the metrics, the greater the reward.

“The method we developed and implemented on our team integrates the quality of code and the motivation of the programmers. The metrics we use include code coverage, cyclomatic complexity, SLoC, and others. The implementation of the method allowed us to save more than 30% on our projects’ budgets,” says Arthur Petrenko, marketing director of Technopark.

The mechanism also makes it much easier for customers to stay informed on code quality. Previously, customers had to directly log in to the static code analyzer web site or into analyzer XML reports in order to get information about the QoC. If QoC was low, they then had to give direct orders regarding certain metrics or modules to programmers. With the new mechanism, customers automatically receive a small set of metrics, making QoC oversight much quicker, easier, and more effective.

TechnoPark has already applied the method to several commercial projects completed in 2008 and 2009. The company found that the method significantly increased programmers’ motivation for better code; reduced the number of post-delivery errors; increased customer involvement in the project; and significantly improved customer satisfaction.

TechnoPark director Yegor Bugayenko will present a paper on the new method at the First International Conference on Advances in System Testing and Validation Lifecycle (VALID 2009), taking place September 20 - 25, 2009, in Porto, Portugal. The paper, entitled “Quality of Code Can Be Planned and Automatically Controlled,” will be presented as part of the Software Verification and Validation track on September 22. VALID 2009 is part of the SoftNet 2009 conference, which is held by the International Academy, Research, and Industry Association (IARIA).