QSM Announces SLIM 7.0 Planning, Estimating Solution For Complex Enterprise Software Development Scenarios

MCLEAN, Va., SEPT. 29, 2008 -- QSM, Inc. today announced a new version of the company’s flagship software lifecycle management solution, SLIM Suite 7.0, bringing a new level of sophistication to the planning and estimation strategies of software developers. QSM is a provider of software tools and consulting services that enable organizations to estimate, track, and benchmark their software development and maintenance projects.

Commercial and government enterprises worldwide use SLIM in three critical stages: to estimate the cost and schedule for new projects; to benchmark completed projects against others; and to measure and control “in-flight” projects to prevent overruns. Used for managing both internal and outsourced application development, SLIM comprises five elements, which can be used individually or in the integrated suite: SLIM-Estimate, SLIM-Control, SLIM-DataManager, SLIM-Metrics, and SLIM-MasterPlan.

"Until you measure and compare, you don't know how good you really are,” said Kim Wheeler, Director of Development Projects, Follett Software Company, the leader in school book and library automation technology. In conjunction with QSM Associates, Follett uses SLIM tools to more effectively estimate and manage their Agile projects. “SLIM is well suited to the fast-paced, iterative world we live in. SLIM measurements have enabled us to identify that our in-house Agile development saved more than $7.8 million compared to industry experience. Instead of seeking cost savings offshore, we're achieving these higher savings with our own team,” said Wheeler.

“SLIM has been an incredible motivator to our staff. After using SLIM on three XP projects, we have experienced continuous improvement; in fact, our most recent three projects have hit even higher levels of productivity. Such a return is unprecedented in our experience," Wheeler said. Follett’s experience and expertise in library automation and materials serves as the launching pad for both information and resource management tools and solutions. Follett Software’s legacy of innovation includes multiple awards, and a leading role in the Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF) initiative.

The SLIM MasterPlan component of the SLIM 7.0 Suite has been greatly enhanced to accommodate the more complex development strategies that are common to today’s software environment. For example, the development landscape for today’s enterprises often includes multiple release, multiple partners, multiple product integrations, and iterative strategies like Agile and RUP.

The new version of SLIM also provides off-the-shelf templates that enable developers to build models of many complex programs. These templates, which are based on best practice profiles from thousands of QSM consulting engagements, include Agile, off-shore, multi-release, and multi-contractor, as well as package implementation templates for SAP, PeopleSoft, and Oracle.

The concepts of systems design, modeling and reuse are all essential to both productivity and quality in today’s enterprise. Taking these concepts to a higher level, SLIM’s Available Task Component Library easily add tasks outside of the typical software development modeling process, such as systems engineering, fixed cost, milestones, system-level integration and testing, long term sustainment, and program management.

A new Global what-if Scenario Generator allows for quick assessment of the impact to any individual component on the entire program. For example, users can change team sizes, productivity assumptions or functional content, and the scenario generator calculates the impact for each program component then applies the dependence rules and displays an alternative solution.

All SLIM Suite elements are compatible with Microsoft’s Access open architecture, and allow seamless interfaces to any ODBC-compliant tool. And, all can export to and import from the latest version of MS Project, including multi-level Work Breakdown Structure [WBS] files. An improved API also facilitates the importing of statistics and other information from leading independent tool suites, such as those provided by IBM/Rational and Telelogic.

Information from independent tools, in such areas as requirements definition, design, configuration management and defect tracking, is critical to the world-class project management delivered by this newest version of the SLIM Suite. With its strong integration capabilities, SLIM delivers unparalleled project planning and management.

Backward-compatible with previous versions, SLIM Suite 7.0 is available now from QSM, its U.S. affiliate QSM Associates, and the network of QSM offices worldwide.

About Quantitative Software Management, Inc. (QSM)

Founded by software engineering pioneer Larry Putnam in 1978, QSM’s goal is to help clients become world-class software developers and reduce the overall expense of software development projects. QSM’s SLIM software tools and consultative approach capture the management numbers that enable organizations to effectively estimate, track, and benchmark their software development and maintenance projects. The company is based in McLean, Virginia, with offices and affiliates in Massachusetts, France, The Netherlands, and the U.K.

NOTE: SLIM, SLIM Suite, SLIM-Control, SLIM-Estimate, SLIM-DataManager, SLIM-Metrics, and SLIM-MasterPlan are trademarks of QSM, Inc. All other marks are the property of their respective owners, and are used for identification purposes only. Additional information is available at www.qsm.com.