By Greg DeMichillie [bio]
Posted: Oct. 31, 2005

These charts generated by Visual Studio Team System show how different project metrics can be combined to give a more complete picture of a software project.

The chart on the top shows a healthy software project. The number of test cases failing is decreasing over time, as are the code churn and the number of active bugs. Meanwhile, the code coverage (the percentage of the application's source code that is being exercised by automated tests) is increasing.

The bottom chart, on the other hand, highlights problems. If a manager were to see only the number of test cases failing, he would see it holding steady and might assume the project was on track. By looking at the combined data, however, it becomes clear that code churn is increasing while the code coverage is decreasing. The conclusion is that code is being added to the project without matching automated tests being created.