Goal-Driven Definition of Product Metrics Based on Properties
Lionel Briand, Sandro Morasca, Victor Robert Basili · 1995
Defining product metrics requires a rigorous and disciplined approach, because useful metrics depend, to a very large extent, on one's goals and assumptions about the studied software process. Unlike in more mature scientific fields, it appears difficult to devise a "universal" set of metrics in software engineering, that can be used across application environments. We propose an approach for the definition of product metrics which is driven by the experimental goals of measurement, expressed via the GQM paradigm, and is based on the mathematical properties of the metrics. This approach integrates several research contributions from the literature into a consistent , practical and rigorous approach. The approach we outline should not be considered as a complete and definitive solution, but as a starting point for discussion about a product metric definition approach widely accepted in the software engineering community. At this point, we intend to provide an intellectual process that w...