Case studies in system design

Selecting a set of metrics to evaluate a system design is a difficult but important task. Determining if a project is within the realm of the possible for a company before the task is undertaken helps to reduce risk and increase the chances of success. We have selected a set of metrics and applied them to 17 case studies. These are all successful design efforts, but vary in the difficulty of the design and the amount of resources needed to achieve success. Our results indicate that it is possible to develop and use metrics to determine the potential success of a design before it begins.