Software Engineering Resources
	Software Process Metrics Software process and product metrics are quantitative measures that enable software people to gain insight into the efficacy of the software process and the projects that are conducted using the process as a framework. Basic quality and productivity data are collected. These data are then analyzed, compared against past averages, and assessed to determine whether quality and productivity improvements have occurred. Metrics are also used to pinpoint problem areas so that remedies can be developed and the software process can be improved. The following topic categories are presented: General Metrics Resources Metrics Tutorials, Articles, and Papers Metrics Process and Definition Function Points Object-Oriented Measurement and Metrics Web Metrics Metrics Tools Books General Metrics Resources Metrics Resources A collection of metrics links prepared by Thomas Fetcke. Total Metrics Website A worthwhile source of news and resources on software metrics. Metrics Center Resources Useful resources for SPI and software metrics developed by Distributive Management. The SEI's SEMA Program Offers a wide variety of software measurement-related information. Practical Software Measurement The U.S. Army has prepared advice, commentary and resources for software metrics work. Quality Plus Technologies, Inc. Carol Dekkers and her team host a website with many articles and a useful FAQ. Metrics Tutorials, Articles, and Papers Metrics Classification A detailed classification of process, product and resource metrics. Software Measures and FP Measurement A variety of articles on software measures and function point measurement. Literate Programming A collection of downloadable articles of software metrics. Software Measurement Validation Brief discussion and useful resources on validation of metrics. Metrics Articles Dozens of useful articles compiler at software-engineer.org. Metrics Bibliography An extensive, categorized print bibliography. Recommended for researchers. Software Metrics and Reliability A NASA paper that addresses how "quality metrics assist in the evaluation of software reliability." Stakeholder Value Metrics An article that argues that the "most important metrics have everything to do with what your stakeholders are getting out of your project." Metrics Process and Definition An 8-Step Metrics Program A step-by step guide for instituting a metrics program. A Metrics Primer A useful introduction by karl Wiegers. See also traps to avoid. A Software Metrics Plan Example of an indepth software metrics plan. Java Metrics Definition of a set of software metrics that are appropriate for Java. Pascal Metrics Definition of a set of software metrics that are appropriate for Pascal. Function Points Resources IFPUG The Intl. Function Point User's Group is the source for everything FP. Function Points Sites - 1 An listing of FP-related Web sites. Function Point Sites - 2 prepared by IFPUG. Function Point FAQ Commonly asked questions about FP are asked and answered at this site. Software Productivity Research A commercial site that specializes in FP metrics. Useful resources. Requires registration. Using FP Productivity Measurement using FP What to do after you've measured FP. An older article but still worthwhile. Software Measurement using FP An article in Crosstalk by Capers Jones. Cost Estimation using FP A useful set of pointers to resources on the subject. Function Point Calculator A simple on-line tool for computing function points. Object-Oriented Measurement and Metrics OO Metrics Resources Extensive OOM resources compiler by CETUS links. Recommended. Candidate OO metrics A collection of candidate OO metrics is presented by Kenneth L. Morris . Metrics include Productivity, Inheritance Denpendencies, Degree of Coupling Between Objects, Degree of Cohesion of Objects, and many others. A Survey of OO Metrics A useful survey of popular OO metrics is presented in this discussion. "Applying and Interpreting Object-Oriented Metrics" A NASA technical report addressing quality metrics for OO systems. "Automated Metrics and Object-Oriented Development" A Dr. Dobb's article describes Quality Metrics for Object-Oriented Development (QMOOD++), an automated tool that supports a suite of over 30 object-oriented metrics. "Managerial use of metrics for object oriented software: an exploratory analysis" In this research an analysis of a set of metrics proposed by Chidamber and Kemerer (1994) is performed in order to assess their usefulness for practicing managers. Web Metrics Web Metrics Testbed NIST usability metrics and tools. Web Metrics Discusses the data to collect and how to analyze it. How to Interpret Web Metrics An article by Brian Eisenberg at ClickZ Today. Measuring the Size of the Web An article that methods for measuring the size of the Web. Metrics Tools A program for generating control charts and histograms A BASIC language program can be downloaded from this site. Metrics Tools - 1 Tools developed by the Software Measurement Labs at the University of Magdeburg are described here. Metrics Tools - 2 An extensive list of tools compiled by Thomas Fetcke. Books Software process improvement (SPI) has received a significant amount of attention over the past two decades. Since measurement and software metrics are key to successfully improving the software process, many books on SPI also discuss metrics. Worthwhile sources of information on process metrics include: Burr, A. and M. Owen, Statistical Methods for Software Quality, International Thomson Publishing, 1996. El Emam, K. and N. Madhavji (eds.), Elements of Software Process Assessment and Improvement, IEEE Computer Society, 1999. Florac, W.A. and A.D. Carleton, Measuring the Software Process, Addison-Wesley, 1999. Garmus, D. and D. Herron, Measuring the Software Process: A Practical Guide to Functional Measurements, Prentice-Hall, 1996. Humphrey, W., Introduction to the Team Software Process, Addison-Wesley Longman, 2000. Kan, S.H., Metrics and Models in Software Quality Engineering, Addison-Wesley, 1995. McGarry and his colleagues (Practical Software Measurement, Addison-Wesley, 2001) present in-depth advice for assessing the software process. A worthwhile collection of papers has been edited by Haug and his colleagues (Software Process Improvement: Metrics, Measurement, and Process Modeling, Springer-Verlag, 2001). Florac and Carlton (Measuring the Software Process, Addison-Wesley, 1999), Fenton and Pfleeger (Software Metrics: A Rigorous and Practical Approach, Revised, Brooks/Cole Publishers, 1998), Humphrey (A Discipline for Software Engineering, Addison-Wesley, 1995), Yeh (Software Process Control, McGraw-Hill, 1993), and Grady (Practical Software Metrics for Project Management and Process Improvement, Prentice-Hall, 1992) discuss how software metrics can be used to provide the indicators necessary to improve the software process. Putnam and Myers (Executive Briefing: Controlling Software Development, IEEE Computer Society, 1996) and Pulford and his colleagues (A Quantitative Approach to Software Management, Addison-Wesley, 1996) discuss process metrics and their use from a management point of view. Maxwell (Applied Statistics for Software Managers, Prentice-Hall, 2003) presents techniques for analyzing software project data. Munson (Software Engineering Measurement, Auerbach, 2003) discusses a broad array of software engineering measurement issues. Jones (Software Assessments, Benchmarks and Best Practices, Addison-Wesley, 2000) describes both quantitative measurement and qualitative factors that help an organization assess its software process and practices. Weinberg (Quality Software Management, Volume 2: First Order Measurement, Dorset House, 1993) presents a useful model for observing software projects, ascertaining the meaning of the observation, and determining its significance for tactical and strategic decisions. The Software Productivity Consortium (The Software Measurement Guidebook, Thomson Computer Press, 1995) provides useful suggestions for instituting an effective metrics approach. Oman and Pfleeger (Applying Software Metrics, IEEE Computer Society Press, 1997) have edited an excellent anthology of important papers on software metrics. Park and his colleagues (Goal Driven Software Measurement—A Guidebook, CMU/SEI-96-BH-002, Software Engineering Institute, 1996.) have developed a detailed guidebook that provides step-by-step suggestions for instituting a software metrics program for software process improvement. Function point measurement has become a widely used technique in many areas of software engineering work. Garmus and Herron (Function Point Analysis: Measurement Practices for Successful Software Projects, Addison-Wesley, 2000) discuss process metrics with an emphasis on function point analysis. Lorenze and Kidd (Object-Oriented Software Metrics, Prentice-Hall, 1994) and DeChampeax (Object-Oriented Development Process and Metrics, Prentice-Hall, 1996) consider the OO process and describe a set of metrics for assessing it. Whitmire (Object-Oriented Design Measurement, Wiley, 1997) and Henderson-Sellers (Object-Oriented Metrics: Measures of Complexity, Prentice-Hall, 1995) focus on technical metrics for OO work, but also consider measures and metrics that can be used at the process and product level. Relatively little has been published on metrics for web engineering work, However, Stern (Web Metrics: Proven Methods for Measuring Web Site Success, Wiley, 2002), Inan and Kean (Measuring the Success of Your Website, Longman, 2002), and Nobles and Grady (Web Site Analysis and Reporting, Premier Press, 2001) address Web metrics from a business and marketing perspective.