Evaluating software engineering methods and tools: part 9: quantitative case study methodology

This article is the first of three articles describing how to undertake a quantitative case study based on work done as part of the DESMET project [1], [2]. In the context of methods and tool evaluations, case studies are a means of evaluating methods and tools as part of the normal software development activities undertaken by an organisation. The main benefit of such case studies is that they allow the effect of new methods and tools to be assessed in realistic situations. Thus, case studies provide a cost-effective means of ensuring that process changes provide the desired results. However, unlike formal experiments and surveys, case studies do not have a well-understood theoretical basis. This series of articles provides guidelines for organising and analysing case studies so that your investigations of new technologies will produce meaningful results.