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IT Quality Assurance Staffing Ratios (2007)
Organizations seeking to improve application development and maintenance processes require the skills of a capable software quality assurance group. But what level of staffing is appropriate for the quality assurance function? This report, based on surveys of more than 60 senior IT managers and CIOs, provides metrics for staffing the IT QA function. Benchmarks include QA staff as a percent of the total IT staff and as a percent of the application development staff. These statistics are further broken down by size of organization and whether the organization outsources any part of software development or maintenance. Factors that affect QA staffing variation between companies and industries are also discussed. (6 pp., 6 figs.) [Executive Summary]
February, 2007
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Server Support Staffing Ratios (2007)
Providing an adequate level of server support staff is an important element of data center budgeting. This article provides benchmarks for server support headcount based on a survey conducted by Computer Economics with over 140 data centers. Benchmarks are provided in terms of the number of servers and OS instances that are supported by one support staff member, at the median, 25th, and 75th percentiles. Metrics are provided for small (fewer than 50 servers), medium (50 to 250 servers), and large data centers (more than 250 servers). This study also provides guidelines for adjusting the staffing ratios to account for project-related activities and time spent performing help desk activities. Finally, the impact of server virtualization is analyzed in terms of its positive effect on server support staff productivity. (13 pp, 20 figs.) [Executive Summary]
December, 2006
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IT Manager Staffing Ratios
Determining the appropriate balance between IT management positions and technical personnel is a key decision of IT organizational design. This article provides staffing ratios for IT manager positions (executive, mid-level, and line managers) as a percent of the total IT headcount. IT manager staff ratio benchmarks are also provided by number of desktops (PCs) and number of users, broken out for small, medium, and large companies. These metrics show that IT management is not a highly scaleable function. Recommendations for optimizing IT manager headcount are also provided. (5 pp., 6 figs.)[Executive Summary]
December, 2006
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IT Project Management Staffing Ratios and PMO Adoption (2006)
Much of the work within IT is project-based. Therefore, the project manager position is one of the most important jobs within the IT organization. This article examines the role of the project manager and the project management office (PMO). It provides project manager staffing ratios and adoption rates for the PMO structure by size of company. Finally, it suggests performance metrics that are most useful for measuring the success of the PMO and identifies best practices that differentiate the most effective project managers. (4 pp., 3 figs.)[Executive Summary]
October, 2006
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Network Spending & Staff Ratios by Organization Size
Network spending and staffing ratios show consistent relationships with organizational size. Therefore, IT executives should properly consider the size of their organization when benchmarking their network spending and staffing levels. Based on a survey of nearly 200 senior IT executives in North America, this article provides benchmarks for network infrastructure spending as a percentage of the total IT operational budget, network support staffing levels as a percentage of the total IT headcount, and network staff productivity in terms of number of users and desktops supported per network staff member. Guidelines for triggering further analysis and recommendations for optimizing network spending and staffing are also provided. (8 pp., 4 figs.) [Executive Summary]
August, 2006
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IT Recruiting: Which Ways Work Best Today?
The effectiveness of various IT recruiting methods varies according to the job market. This article provides an analysis of the current IT labor market and why IT hiring is becoming more difficult. Based on our survey of nearly 200 senior IT executives, it then presents a detailed analysis of nine recruiting methods in terms of their popularity among employers, their overall effectiveness, and their ability to produce the greatest numbers of new hires. The nine methods are: recruiting firms, in-house recruiters, online job boards, employee referral programs, corporate websites, print ads, internships, job fairs/events, and outplacement services. The analysis highlights the differences between small, medium, and large firms and finds that the methods that are most popular are not necessarily the ones that are most effective or able to generate the most new hires. (9 pp., 4 figs.)[Executive Summary]
August, 2006
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Help Desk Staffing Ratios by User and Desktop
Understanding the optimal number of help desk personnel is an important exercise in maintaining help desk service levels while controlling costs. This article, based on our 2006/2007 IT staffing metrics, provides benchmarks for the typical number of users and desktops per help desk staff member. These ratios are provided at the median, 25th percentile, and 75th percentile. Data is broken down by small, mid-size, and large organizations. There is also a breakdown by nine industry sectors: banking/finance, insurance, healthcare, manufacturing, wholesale distribution, retail, utilities/energy, business services, and government. Specific recommendations for improving the cost/performance of help desk personnel are also provided. (8 pp., 5 figs.) [Executive Summary]
June, 2006
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IT Training Budget and Staffing Metrics by Organizational Size and Industry
An analysis of corporate spending for IT training shows that many organizations are not investing adequately in professional development of their IT staff, the largest single line item in the IT budget. This article reviews IT training budget and staffing benchmarking metrics from 2000 through 2005, with projection for 2006. It also examines the differences in training spending and staffing ratios between organizations of different sizes and in various industry sectors. (6 pp., 5 figs.)
May, 2006
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IT Labor Supply Tightens
The pool of IT professionals seeking employment shrunk in 2004 and early 2005. Computer workers are experiencing the lowest jobless rate since 2001. This report, based on our 2005 IT Salary Report, provides employment statistics for eight IT job categories, and it should alert IT managers to the upcoming shortage of skilled professionals to fill job openings and concomitant demand-driven wage increases. This article also reports the results of a Computer Economics survey on the effectiveness of personnel management and workload management processes, disciplines that are essential in addressing the tightening IT labor supply. (5 pp., 4 figs.)
April, 2006
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IT Job Market Strengthening in 2006
In North America, 2006 is destined to become a pivotal year for technology professionals, as both salary and hiring trends are finally on the upswing. This report analyzes changes in IT staffing and salary trends from 2001 to 2005 with projections for 2006, including the IT skills that will be in greatest and least demand. A discussion of the impact of IT outsourcing on the job market is also included. This article is based on material presented in the first chapter of our 2006 IT Salary Report. (9 pp., 2 figs.)
April, 2006
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Long-Term Trends in IT Staffing Ratios
Over the past decade, the mix of jobs in the typical IT department has been changing, in ways that are not commonly recognized. This article, based on 10 years of our IT staffing metrics, identifies those changes and their significance for the future of IT staffing. The following job categories are analyzed in terms of their current percentage in the typical IT organization and relative growth or decline over the past five and 10 year periods: Application Development, System Management, Network Administration, Database Administration, QA/QC, Help Desk & PC Support, Website Management, Computer Operations, Documentation/Training, Administration & Clerical, and IT Management. (8 pp., 3 figs.)[Executive Summary]
March, 2006
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Database Staffing Benchmarks
The increasing size and number of databases makes database administration and support a critical function in nearly every IT organization. But decision-makers may be hard-pressed to justify the support staff required to maintain the database infrastructure. How many personnel should be dedicated to data base for a company of our size? What is the typical ratio of database staff (full time equivalents, or FTE) to the total IT staff? How many headcount do other IT organizations dedicate to the database function? What are the economic returns for database software? This report provides benchmark metrics to answer these questions. (7 pp., 8 figs.)[Executive Summary]
January, 2006
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Network Spending and Staffing Benchmarks
This report provides benchmarks for network infrastructure spending as a percent of the total IT budget and network administration and support staff as a percent of the total IT staff, based on data collected in 2004-2005 from over 300 IT organizations in the U.S. and Canada. A high level analysis of the network hardware and software return on investment and total cost of ownership experiences of these IT organizations is also provided. (10 pp., 7 figs.)[Note: a newer version of these benchmarks exists: read the Executive Summary]
January, 2006
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Help Desk Staffing Ratios by Organization Size and Industry
During 2004 and 2005, Computer Economics surveyed over 300 companies to determine help desk staffing ratios for companies in North America. The key metrics reported are help desk headcount as a percentage of total corporate employees at the median, 25th percentile, and 75th percentile. The ratios are broken down for small, medium, and large organizations and for three specific industries: banking, healthcare, and energy. Specific recommendations for improving the cost/performance of help desk personnel are also provided. (10 pp., 9 figs.)[Executive Summary]
October, 2005
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Online Job Boards: Losing Favor as an IT Recruiting Tool?
Preliminary data from our 2005 IT study on high-level staffing issues points to an interesting trend in recruiting: it appears that many companies may be losing interest in online job boards and going back to more traditional recruiting methods, such as—surprisingly—the use of third-party recruiters.
May, 2005
IT Staffing
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