GQM + Strategies ® : Experiences from Industrial Case Studies and Visualization Needs

Explicitly linking software-related activities to an organization’s higher-level goals has been shown to be critical for several purposes such as aligning activities to strategies or linking budgets to strategic objectives. GQM + Strategies ® provides mechanisms for explicitly linking goals and strategies in an organization based on goal-oriented measurement. Developing strategic measurement systems with GQM+Strategies ® requires that higher-level decision makers are involved and that, as a consequence, their information needs are addressed. Experience has shown that it is important to use adequate representations for decision makers when involving them in the definition of strategic measurement systems. This article sketches practical experience from three industrial pilot studies that applied the method, derives requirements for representing strategic measurement systems to decision makers in an adequate format, and proposes visualization mechanisms that can contribute to the fulfillment of the stated requirements. In the conclusion, next steps and future research questions are sketched.