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Software Metrics: A Rigorous & Practical Approach, Second Edition, Norman E. Fenton and Shari Lawrence Pfleeger, International Thomson Computer Press, London, 1997. 638 pp. (ISBN 0-534-95600-9). Many of us have seen the "Dilbert" comic strip by Scott Adams, where The Boss complains to Wally that his laptop weighs too much. Wally suggests that he "delete files to lower the weight."
Wally's silly suggestion is funny, not because we know that software has no weight, but because many of us know of "bosses" who ask for software measurements that do not make sense.
Although software has no physical presence, managers, hopefully unlike The Boss in "Dilbert," need to be able to quantify software attributes. Indeed, software is often the most expensive component of a product. Yet, it is not visible. It is easy to see when a building is half completed, but the statement that coding is "90 percent complete" carries little useful information.
The field of software measurement, or software metrics, has grown up out of two needs. One is the need for software developers to be able to manage the software development process. For example, developers need to determine the resources (i.e., programmers) or time needed to deliver a product or whether the software is "good enough" to release. The other need comes from researchers, who want to be able to objectively define and measure software attributes in order to better understand software engineering.
Unfortunately,...