Metrology and Software Measurement: a Comparison of some Basic Characteristics

In this paper, the authors discuss the issues associated to measurements executed in the domains of software engineering and metrology. Similarities and differences are highlighted also with the aim of discussing the level of knowledge in both domains. A measurement process model is proposed and used as a guiding scheme throughout this paper. It is shown that both domains could benefit from the definition of a rigorously identified common measurement framework

I. INTRODUCTION

Measurements of various properties of software (“software measurements” for short) are performed routinely in the area of software engineering to prove research–related theories, to assess performance and predict process outcomes in the software industry.