6th Sense Analytics Unveils Software Development Analytics Solution
Provides Accurate, Automated Visibility into Software Projects; New Functionality Supports Maintenance Efforts
MORRISVILLE, NC -- September 25, 2006 -- 6th Sense Analytics, a pioneer in improving software development metrics, today announced a new version of its leading-edge technology for automatically collecting software development data and aggregating metrics. 6th Sense provides the basis for keeping software projects on time, on budget and on target with business goals, and includes new levels of automation that directly support maintenance needs -- data that offers a clear answer to exactly how much time is spent on maintenance activities like defect tracking and change requests, and exactly how those actions impact cost and successful product completion.
Traditional application development tools have not met the challenge of delivering accurate visibility into development processes. As a result, software development projects have been left to chance, which has led to a stunningly high rate of failure. 6th Sense Analytics is in a unique position to change the face of software development by delivering accurate and up-to-date software metrics that empower organizations to better manage projects, while keeping them on track with business goals.
"Today's software development projects are highly distributed and complex, which makes the need for accurate metrics more critical than ever," said Dana Gardner, principal analyst for Interarbor Solutions. "The challenge is gaining accurate and transparent visibility into the actual work patterns of developers, and, more importantly, amassing the metadata of development productivity analytics. Organizations without visibility into development processes are putting business goals at risk."
The key to 6th Sense's solution is its ability to automatically gather data without requiring developers to change their working processes or their tool selection. All the data captured through 6th Sense sensors is unobtrusive to the user and is presented via a variety of visualization and analysis tools for developers, project managers and IT executives.
6th Sense arms development organizations with information about the development process and resource utilization via an independent, open, web-services architecture to collect and analyze software development metrics. The metrics delivered by 6th Sense can be viewed in a wide variety of ways, including by team, activity, time, tools used and even file extension. With easy to use and highly configurable reporting capabilities built on SVG technology, teams can quickly aggregate data, clearly understanding what developers are doing, what tools and technologies they are using, and how much time they've spent on development activities such as editing, viewing, debugging and testing. All of this allows software development teams to improve their ability to deliver successful project outcomes.
6th Sense Analytics 2.0
The first release of the 6th Sense solution focused on harvesting accurate, fact-based metrics about developers' work in real time, particularly measuring Active Time (time spent in development activities, including editing, viewing, debugging and testing) and Flow Time (Active Time a developer spends on a specific task without interruptions for 20 minutes or more).
"The new functionality in the 6th Sense solution goes beyond just providing insight; it extends the way we look at development efforts, allowing teams to gain transparency into maintenance efforts and their impact on the software development process," said Todd Olson, CTO and co-founder of 6th Sense Analytics. "With this ability, managers have a way to increase their success in on-time delivery."
Version 2.0 extends its automated capabilities from capturing data on development team actions, to providing data that specifically focuses on maintenance efforts; from defect tracking and bug fixes to change requests. Managers and team members can easily see how much Active Time was spent on maintenance activities, which team members were involved in addressing them and the results of the time spent. With this improved visibility, the financial impact of maintenance efforts can identified and managed.
By broadening the set of tools data is gathered from to include leading source control management and change request management systems, software development teams can combine use 6th Sense's new analytics with data they already have to better understand the immediate effect on delivery and overall project costs. Tools supported by 6th Sense include Microsoft Visual Studio 2005, Eclipse and Emacs, among others. For a complete list, visit the 6th Sense website at www.6thsenseanalytics.com.
Pricing and Availability
Version 2.0 of the 6th Sense solution will be available mid-October 2006. 6th Sense is a Software as a Service (SaaS) hosted solution available from the 6th Sense website. The 6th Sense solution is available in two editions; Personal Edition is available free of charge; and Team Edition which aggregates project metrics, is available for $960 per user per year.
About 6th Sense Analytics
6th Sense Analytics, a pioneer in improving software development metrics, gives developers and managers deep insight into their software development process by delivering accurate metrics without interrupting the software development lifecycle or changing the tools used. The company uses an open and independent architecture that provides visibility into the status of distributed software projects. Founded in 2004 by a team of experienced executives in the software development market, representing companies including Rational (now IBM), TogetherSoft and Borland, 6th Sense Analytics is a privately held company based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
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