???Statistical Measurement; A Related Question (Metrics)

[jgbarnes@ix.netcom.com (JAMES BARNES)]

Now, for a branch in the Statistical Measurement Road. . . .Let's talk METRICS!

If statistical measurement requires that I "sample" my program, what categories 
of data 1) are manageable and 2) actually reflect the overall performance of a 
program.

This raises the ugly spectre of HP ***metrics***.  I have seen a number of 
programs built to "measure" the overall effectiveness of a program, but they all 
seemed to degenerate into an excuse to buy more computers and color printers so 
we could line the walls of the HP break room.  Added to that, some of the numbers 
were a real pain to compile and maintain.

My dim understanding of statistical management says that the measurement should 
be:

    1)  easily obtained

    2)  easily tabulated

    3)  at a glance, reflect the "true" performance of a process or system

As RP tends to deal with "behavior" parameters and boundaries of operation (we 
set rules, but don't do the work) rather than repeatable assembly line production 
processes, what statistic would one use to measure the performance of a program.

So, I'd like to see some statistics proposed that would "test" for the 
performance of the following ("typical") facets of an RP program that meet the 
above requirements.  I'd prefer to see ONE measurement that tells the story; not 
5 or 10 separate measurements that I have to spend a couple of hours interpreting 
(my feeling is that a ratio of stats may be the ticket here, but I'm 
speculating):

    1)  How effective is your external dose control?

    2)  How effective is your internal dose control?

    3)  How obedient are your users/workers to RP requirements?

    4)  How responsive is your program to off-normal events?

    5)  How good is your program at predicting off-normal events?

Thanks,

Jim Barnes, CHP
RSO
Rockwell Aerospace; Rocketdyne Division