Metrics for software component management

Average branch lifespan: This metric tracks the lifespan of feature branches. A shorter average lifespan indicates a more agile development process indicative of continuous integration. Track this metric by gathering data from version control systems and analyzing repository statistics.

Open-source license violations: The number of open-source components used that do not align with approved license lists. Tracking this metric can help monitor adherence to legal compliance requirements. Gather data by integrating license-checking tools, such Software Composition Analysis (SCA) tools, into pipelines and review the findings. Supplement this data by also including builds which do not include SCA scans.

Average time to resolve vulnerabilities: Represents how quickly software vulnerabilities and security risks are mitigated. A reduced average time indicates a proactive security approach. To improve this metric, prioritize vulnerabilities based on severity, integrate security into the development lifecycle, enhance developer security collaboration, and introduce security training. Track this metric by recording timestamps of vulnerability detection and resolution, then calculate the average duration throughout a specific time frame.

Software component health: Measures the age, reuse frequency, and contribution to technical debt of each software component. Monitoring this metric provides insights into outdated components, development efficiency, and technical debt accumulation. To improve health, prioritize updating or retiring dated components and fostering reusable design patterns. Calculate code age using the difference between the current date and the date of the last update, count the number of projects which depends on the component, and use static code analysis tools to calculate a technical debt score.

Here is an example formula to calculate technical debt score, which will need to be altered for use within your organization:

Technical debt score =

Cyclomatic Complexity + Duplicate Code + Other detectable forms of Software Entropy