ISM Announces Predictive Pro, a New Tool for Managing Software Project Risk.

FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- Integrated Software Metrics, Inc. (ISM) has announced the release of Predictive(TM) Pro, the second product in the Predictive(TM) tool suite. ISM's Predictive(TM) Pro was developed specifically as a risk management tool for software project managers and developers. It incorporates artificial intelligence to create a powerful tool for evaluating error data and developing a knowledge base for software projects. Predictive(TM) Pro is designed for C or C++ source code, and works at the function level to detect, analyze and predict error-prone code.

To fully understand the inherent risks in an organization's software projects, it's necessary to have tools that help predict errors for new projects, and that can analyze error data from historical projects. That's where artificial intelligence comes in. Projects must be analyzed on a continual basis to collect error data, apply metrics, search for patterns, and characterize trends so that the tools cumulatively capture the organization's behaviors over time. As the tools are trained to look for patterns, more errors are found earlier in the cycle. This enables the organization to map the risk for the entire development cycle. Such tools can be used to build a knowledge base of error patterns within a software project and across multiple software projects (existing or historical). Predictive(TM) Pro was designed to provide these capabilities.

Predictive(TM) Pro consists of three modes. Standard mode is used early in the software lifecycle, before error data is accumulated; it helps predict where errors will occur. As project error data is accumulated, the Heuristics mode is used to identify the error-prone code. The Heuristics mode is then used through most the coding phase. Near the end of the coding phase and through the testing phase, the Trend Identifier mode is used to identify trends and find the chronic problems. Output from Predictive(TM) Pro shows every module in the project, its location, and error data for that module. Together, the three modes provide a comprehensive view of errors and risks within a project, so that decisions can be made and actions can be taken to assign resources, fix errors, and improve processes. With the built-in artificial intelligence capability, Predictive(TM) Pro essentially adapts itself to an organization's projects over time.

Predictive Pro is available as a per-seat license, scalable for any size organization. Visit ISM's website www.ismwv.com for more product details and to read their latest white paper, "Using Artificial Intelligence to Manage Software Risk."

About ISM

INTEGRATED SOFTWARE METRICS, INC. is a software company committed to innovation in predictive software development and management tools. ISM's technology was developed in collaboration with customers on several complex software development projects. ISM is privately held and is headquartered in Fairmont, West Virginia.