LedaMC’s CIO Panel: Celebrating 20 Years of Journey through the Software Measurement Galaxy

LedaMC celebrated its 20th Anniversary with a CIO Panel at the Luchana theaters in Madrid on May 25th. The event addressed topics such as quality, agility, and talent retention. Employees, clients, and friends of the company attended, including representatives from well-known companies like Vodafone, OEPM, Repsol, Redeia, Orange, Mapfre, ONCE, and Correos, among others.

Rafael de la Fuente, founder of LedaMC and Quanter, kicked off the event with a special acknowledgment, expressing gratitude to his first clients for their trust. He then proceeded to highlight some of the achievements attained over the past 20 years. In the early years, LedaMC focused on consultancy projects until 2008 when Jesús Marquina, then CIO of Bankinter, posed a crucial question about the value of software: “How much does a kilogram of software cost?”. This marked a turning point for the company, propelling it towards software measurement and productivity management.

Since then, LedaMC has gained prominent clients such as Vodafone, Iberia, Mapfre, and Telefónica, some of whom continue to place their trust in our services. Quality management became an important focus for the company, as productivity and economic management of software development must go hand in hand with quality management. In Rafael’s words, “Being cheap is useless if you are bad”.

After recalling other important moments for the company, such as international expansion, benchmarking, and the launch of Quanter… Rafael de la Fuente thanked the employees and clients for their contribution to Leda’s success so far and introduced the next speakers at the event.

We leave you a video summary, but read on to find out the most important points of this event:

Agility, Quality, and Measurement in an amusing tone

Domingo Gaitero and Javier Garzás took the floor and, in a very engaging manner, highlighted the importance and challenges that companies, CIOs, and development teams face regarding agility, measurement, and software quality.

Domingo Gaitero is the founder of Proceso Social and a renowned quality expert in Spain. He mentioned the significance of LedaMC, a Spanish company dedicated to software quality and measurement, having a 20-year trajectory, “when measurement is still a pending subject”. He also raised this question: what would happen in companies if measurement and quality advocates left their positions? And emphasized the need to educate about these aspects.

Javier Garzás is an Agile Coach and a pioneer in Agility in Spain and LATAM. He debunked some myths about agility, with statements like, “It’s not that we don’t estimate, because otherwise, it would be an anarchic model; it’s that we estimate differently”. Javier talked about the lessons learned regarding agile metrics, emphasizing the importance of clear objectives, teamwork, and adaptability to change. He also emphasized the importance of choosing metrics correctly and abandoning those that don’t add value.

They concluded their presentation by recalling the fable of the firefly and the cobra, comparing LedaMC to a firefly that must be careful with cobras because it shines. “Will LedaMC endure another 20 years in quality? Definitely, because measuring function points in the Metaverse must be awesome”, concluded Domingo Gaitero.

The Importance of Software Metrics and Agility in the Technology Sector

Next, it was time for the CIO panel, in which Ana Arredondo, CIO of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM), Víctor Moro, technologist and former CIO of Mapfre Iberia, and Carlos Moreno, CTIO of Adamo Telecom, participated. They all congratulated LedaMC for its anniversary. Ana Arredondo highlighted the importance of safeguarding taxpayers’ money in the public sector. She admitted that “It was our obsession. And we were a bit lost in the galaxy until we had the luck to come across this amazing spaceship, LedaMC, with all the tools that we have implemented in our office. It’s helping us measure, and measurement helps us build a bank of trust”.

Carlos Moreno congratulated Rafael de la Fuente, highlighting his status as an entrepreneur. He stated, “If it’s hard now, it must have been infinitely harder 20 years ago, and we need many people with your leadership, your example, and your dedication to service”.

Víctor Moro concluded the congratulations and thanked LedaMC, especially Rafa, for the invitation. He also congratulated everyone for the 20 years and mentioned, “It’s not easy to be in the spotlight for 20 years with everything that’s happening”.

About how they discovered the world of metrics, Carlos Moreno shared that it was thanks to his predecessor in the position at Vodafone. But once he discovered it, he realized “the need to have these types of tools for independence in evaluating the suppliers we had”.

Víctor Moro shared his experience at Mapfre, where they achieved significant savings through the implementation of software metrics. He added, “There are ups and downs with metrics, but they have given us fabulous results and continue to do so”.

Talking about agility, there was a consensus that it is a valuable teamwork philosophy but requires maturity and commitment from all involved. The use of Low Code was also discussed, highlighting its usefulness for smaller and less critical developments, if they don’t compromise the security of business databases. “These tools can be very helpful in terms of both quality and time”, stated Víctor Moro.

The Challenges of Quality, Artificial Intelligence, and Talent Retention

Regarding quality in IT developments, it was noted that, although everyone recognizes its importance, products are sometimes released with defects due to the pressure to launch quickly. Ana from OEPM affirmed that “the sooner you include quality as an ingredient in what you’re cooking, the fewer problems we’ll have. Quality must be paid for”. Carlos expressed the opinion that a balance must be found between quality and time, especially in modern development environments where rapid launches are sometimes necessary. Víctor added that quality has always been a critical point and that “we always have to evaluate cost, quality, and time factors. What is it that I want?”

As for artificial intelligence, the panellists agreed that its impact is uncertain, and it is still difficult to predict its scope. While some highlighted the human qualities that AI cannot emulate, others considered it a promising technology that needs proper regulation.

Lastly, the topic of talent retention in the technology sector was addressed, highlighting it as a growing challenge. Ana mentioned that this has led to increase development costs and suggested using productivity measurement tools to evaluate remote work. However, Carlos pointed out that the problem is even more pressing in other European countries. “Spain is entering into these dynamics of talent issues because there is a scarcity. We are becoming more demanding, and not just anything is enough” Víctor added. They emphasized that new formulas for employee satisfaction will have to be sought, with more flexible models and other types of non-monetary compensation, although it is a difficult issue to solve.

The CEO of LedaMC and Quanter, Dácil Castelo, concluded the event expressing her gratitude to Rafael de la Fuente, the speakers, the amazing LedaMC team, the clients, and all the attendees. As a gesture of appreciation, the participants received Quanter’s 2023 Software Development Market Report, driven by LedaMC, and the document “A 20 Light-Year Journey” which highlights the 10 most important success stories achieved by the company for the benefit of its clients.

Afterwards, during the networking session, the attendees had the opportunity to exchange opinions on the topics discussed, reflect on aspects that require deep attention, and discuss effective strategies to drive success in the digital world. The event addressed current trends and challenges in the technology sector and was very well received by the guests, who praised the format, the selection of speakers, and the provided reports as a token of gratitude.

What will our next event be like? Where will this journey through the galaxy of software measurement take us…?