The back cover of Stephen Kan's book states: "If you need to understand how to measure software quality and how to use measurements to improve your software development, you will want to have a copy of this book. Metrics and Models in Software Quality Engineering provides the information and teaches the skills you need to measure and improve the quality of the entire software development process from high-level to low-level design, as well as all phases of reliability.

Joining action plans with actual project experiences, this book focuses on using == not just describing -- metrics. It provides detailed coverage of essential issues and techniques, including software metrics, software reliability models, and models and analysis of program complexity. Metrics and Models in Software Quality Engineering goes even further, discussing such topics as in-process metrics, defect removal effectiveness, customer satisfaction, and more. Numerous real-life examples, many taken from the author's experience as the software quality focal point for IBM's Baldridge Award-winning AS/400, show you how to put the theories and techniques to work. The book also contains examples from such major computer companies as Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, and the NASA Software Engineering Laboratory.

This excellent balancer of theory, techniques, and examples makes for a highly-instructive and practical book on one of the most important topics in software development."

Author Stephen Kan, PhD, an ASQ CQE and a Certified Reliability Engineer, knows about which he writes. Since 1988, he has been involved in AS/400 computer software -- and at the time of the writing, was the process manager of the quality management process in product development of the AS/400. While his specialization is AS/400, Dr. Kan Steven remains fully grounded in general quality principles and creates a comfortable rapport with readers throughout this book.

There are many aspects of this book that make it an informative read the first time through and a useful textbook reference thereafter. Some of the highlights include:

• Review of Quality Principles for newcomers to the software quality arena
• Fundamentals in Measurement Theory (in language that is readily digestible by software professionals)
• Basic measures, six sigma and types of "metrics" and when to use them in a Metrics Program
• Real life examples of implemented Metrics Programs (Motorola, HP, IBM Rochester)
• Seven major tools of Ishikawa (one of the first proponents of Statistical Process Control theories applied to software)
• Literature review and findings to define Software Defect Removal Efficiency
• The Raleigh model and its application to software
• In process metrics and measures
• Collecting and analysis of satisfaction data

Intermixed with the theories and facts of Kan's research, are plentiful opinions and notes that caution readers on such things as "Be careful with correlation". He also warns readers to be cautious about applying SPC (statistical process control) principles directly to software activities without due diligence and planning.