From large metrics to the smallest analysis parameters, benchmarking techniques in software development are crucial for improving the performance of both teams and the digital products developed.

The software development cycle goes through numerous phases, benchmarking being one of them. This consists of the entire process of comparing software and working methods both internal to a company and in competing companies. Through benchmarking techniques it is possible to determine the efficiency of teams in software development, but also of the software itself. Furthermore, it is also through these techniques that it is possible to obtain points of improvement in the work methodology and the product under development.

To make this comparison between two or more teams and products, companies are partnering with organizations that specialize in benchmarking in their sector.

 

Table of contents:

What is benchmarking in software development

• What are the benefits of benchmarking?
• Good benchmarking practices in software development

 

Most used techniques and tools for benchmarking

• Tools for benchmarking in software development

 

What is benchmarking in software development?

When developing software, companies go through the benchmarking phase, which is considered a crucial part of this cyclical process.
Benchmarking is, in fact, an important phase for any area. In marketing, for example, benchmarking techniques are used to evaluate the competition and the campaigns that other companies have carried out and which have resulted. This phase of product, service or campaign development is, therefore, an analysis of the performance of similar products, services or campaigns.

In the case of software development, benchmarking involves analyzing other similar software and evaluating the features that work better or worse. Furthermore, benchmarking techniques in this area are related to software testing that helps to find errors and monitor and evaluate its evolution based on metrics defined by the company that develops it. Metrics can be classified into five categories: developer productivity, software performance, anomalies, usability and user experience.

By analyzing these metrics, it is possible to have a greater sense of the progression of software development and gain a deeper perception of the features that need to be improved.

 

What are the benefits of benchmarking?

Benchmarking techniques and good practices bring numerous benefits to software development. Among them, it is possible to highlight:

• Continuous improvement in the performance of both processes and developers. When comparing software with other competing software, it is possible to have more ideas and processes to be implemented.
• Increased quality of a company’s products and services and, consequently, customer satisfaction.
• Cost reduction through strategies that do not affect the quality of the products or services provided.
• Increased customer satisfaction levels, by identifying areas in which competing companies perform better.
• Reduction of failures and vulnerabilities through the analysis of internal processes for subsequent comparison.
• Increased collaboration between partner organizations and companies, as the benchmarking process often involves cooperation with external companies.

 

Good benchmarking practices in software development

For benchmarking in software development to be more efficient and a valuable help in this process, specific good practices are used:

• Define objectives and choose KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) that best reflect the companies’ comparative advantages
• Performance comparison between test results and performance metrics to determine the current state of the software and what changes are necessary for better platform operation.
• Define benchmark components, especially quantitative ones, in order to determine the software’s performance.
• Comparison of alternatives and motivate comparison between specific tasks and even between sets of performance metrics.
• Recognize benchmarking as a specific research area separate from development areas.

 

Most used techniques and tools for benchmarking

In software development, specific benchmarking techniques are used to measure the performance, productivity and quality parameters of the product. As a consequence, it will be possible to find vulnerabilities in the development process and optimize any existing points for improvement.

Among the most used techniques, the following metrics stand out:

• Developer productivity – These serve to measure the time and effort that developers invest in a new project. These metrics include parameters such as working days, scope of tasks, efficiency and the number of times the code is edited (also called “code churn”).
• Agile process – In order to measure the progress of a software development team, production time – quality metrics are used. To this end, parameters such as waiting time between phases, total life cycle time and the project’s progression speed are measured.
• Product performance – This benchmarking technique in software development serves to analyze software performance in different conditions, such as peaks in traffic, and network disruptions, among others. Within this metric, parameters such as response time, CPU usage, traffic processing and data transfer capacity are analyzed.
• Quality – This metric is used to measure how reliable and secure the software is. To do this, the static code is analyzed, as well as its complexity and its lines (LOC).
• Total development speed – In addition to the speed at which a team develops and delivers a digital product, the quality of the software must also be measured, in order to be sure that it is not being neglected. As such, the total life cycle time of a project is measured and this metric must be aligned with the quality metric.

 

Tools for benchmarking in software development

To help companies carry out benchmarking techniques in software development, some tools measure parameters and present results in less time. However, even before using them, teams need to evaluate their objectives, their working methods and their needs.

To put benchmarking techniques into practice in software development, there are two favourite platforms:

Geekbench – CPU and cross-platform benchmarking platform that tests software and hardware in realistic scenarios. Furthermore, it measures performance in new technological applications such as Augmented Reality and Machine Learning.

Jellyfish Benchmarks – Used to compare software development teams from the same industry, this tool allows you to make better choices about the processes and work methods that best support the products under development.