Software Engineering Institute

Effective management of any process requires quantification, measurement, and modeling. Software metrics provide a quantitative basis for the development and validation of models of the software development process. Metrics can be used to improve software productivity and quality. This module introduces the most commonly used software metrics and reviews their use in constructing models of the software development process. Although current metrics and models are certainly inadequate, a number of organizations are achieving promising results through their use. Results should improve further as we gain additional experience with various metrics and models.