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Do You Have a Clear View of Your Software Project’s Progress?

Do You Have a Clear View of Your Software Project’s Progress?

Hartmut Pohlheim
Article Software Quality Monitoring (MQC)

Have you ever had the feeling that your software project is moving forward, but you are not quite sure how or where exactly? This situation is more common than you might think. Between daily stand-ups, milestone meetings, and a constant flow of updates, it can be difficult to keep track.

Dashboards which act as your project co-pilot could help - providing a structured view of what has changed, what is important right now, and where potential risks are emerging.

In this article, I will introduce the key dashboards my team uses in MES Quality Commander® (MQC). From milestone overviews to daily progress checks, these dashboards do much more than just visualize data. They help developers, project leads, and stakeholders maintain alignment and focus on what really matters.

This content is also part of my LinkedIn series on software quality monitoring.

Dashboard for Our Monthly Milestone Meeting: Milestone Status Dashboard

In each of our test projects, we sit down with our customer every month. A key anchor point is our Milestone Status dashboard - to stimulate discussion and focus on agreed key priorities (without forgetting important topics).

Here is what I like to see in a monthly milestone meeting:

  • Big picture: At the beginning an overview to quickly grasp the state of the project.
  • Quality of tests/models: Next we look at the quality of the artifacts.
  • Number of open bugs: Finally, we dive into the details of the problem areas.
Watch Video: The Milestone Status dashboard in MQC

How does our Milestone Status dashboard support this meeting?

  • Summarize the project's key quality metrics (top level).
  • Provide the quality trend for the current milestone (top level).
  • Show the quality of each model to identify areas of “special” interest (second level).
  • A focused view of the open issues for more detail (third level).

This multi-level approach keeps everyone informed, engaged, and focused.

The next time you need to make a pitch to your team lead, use this Milestone Status dashboard.

While it is always interesting to go into detail, you also need to know when to stop - and the Milestone Status dashboard tells you when that time has come.

The details are discussed with the developers in more specific team meetings, such as the Daily.

Dashboard for Our Daily Team Gathering: Latest Changes Dashboard

Every morning, our team begins the daily team meeting with a quick look at our Latest Changes dashboard. This routine helps us stay aligned and focused on key priorities.

During our stand-up, we discuss these core topics:

  • Successes: We talk about the tasks and issues that have been successfully tackled (and celebrate them).
  • New issues: We discuss any new bugs or issues that have emerged.
  • Project status: Next, we review the project's current status.
  • Open topics: Finally, we share the tasks we will tackle today (including alignment and prioritization, if necessary).

So, what role does our Latest Changes dashboard play in this?

Watch Video: The Latest Changes dashboard in MQC

Our dashboard supports this process by providing:

  • Show changes in project compared to our last daily (usually yesterday).
  • Quickly zoom in on the list of new bugs.
  • Project status, showing only the things our team is working on.
  • A focused view of the team's open issues and tasks.

This structured approach keeps everyone informed, engaged, and motivated. With this routine in place, we are ready to take on the day.

While it is easy to see the benefits of dashboards here, they do not solve all of our problems. We use this dashboard as a conversation starter - nothing more, nothing less.

Even though the Daily gives us a general overview of all topics, it is often necessary to dive a little deeper into specific areas/issues with a small group of developers or on your own.

Keep Your Focus with the Developer Details Dashboard

For developer gatherings, it is helpful to have a comprehensive overview of the changes in your set of models and tests. Not every change in the model or test - we just want to see the new and solved problems at a glance.

That is what I call the Developer Details dashboard!

Here is what we need in the Developer Details dashboard:

  • Changes/Diff: First, we need the diff of issues (changes since the last revision).
  • Project Status: Next, we want to check the current status of my part of the project.
  • Open Points: Finally, we want to check the open issues and tasks that need to be tackled next.
Watch Video: The Developer Details dashboard in MQC

How does the Developer Details dashboard support this?

  • Summarizes changes in issues for each of my models.
  • Highlights fixed and new bugs.
  • Shows relevant tasks according to the project status for my work.
  • Provides a focused view of open issues and tasks.

This combination of diff view and project status proves to be productive every day. It only takes 5 - 10 minutes to be up to date and start working on important topics.

While it is always a good idea to collaborate on changes and project status, the Developer Details dashboard works just as well when you are working alone.

Wrapping It Up

When I use interactive dashboards in MQC, they are more than just data - they help keep everything on track. These dashboards simplify tracking, discussions, and quality assurance, whether you are working with your team or collaborating with external partners.

Bringing dashboards into your daily stand-ups, milestone meetings, and team discussions helps you stay aligned, make better decisions, and maintain a smooth workflow.

Interested in How You Could Use Such Dashboards for Your Team?

Here are three ways to get started:

  1. Direct exchange - In a short call, I will show you how to use dashboards in practice and how they can be flexibly adapted to your requirements.
  2. Watch webinar: Data-Driven Dashboards - In my webinar you will get practical insights into how these dashboards are used in real project work.
  3. Connect on LinkedIn - Let us connect on LinkedIn – Each week, I share detailed insights into the building blocks of quality monitoring.

Get in Touch with Us

This image shows Dr. Hartmut Pohlheim.
Dr. Hartmut Pohlheim
Managing Director

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