3.3.1.2. Measuring Change Impact

Interscript shall provide change impact metrics. It isn't clear to me at this time exactly what to measure and how. The basic idea is to compare all the source files before each run, and record which ones have been changed. If, after some time period, one observes changes to a small number of files, the development is intensive, whereas if one observes changes to a large number of files, the development is extensive. If there are a large number of changes, the project is in a development phase, whereas if there are a small number of changes, debugging or tuning is indicated.

Management should correlate these predictors with oral communication and written status reports. Furthermore, examining the particular location of changes may help pinpoint a problem and suggest reallocation of human resources.