Applicability of Metrology to Information Technology

National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001, In 1959 the Director of the National Bureau of Standards declared “The emergence of science and technology as the paramount concern of the Nation in the 20 century . . . demanded the highest order of measurement competence, in order to provide the standards and measurement techniques on which maintenance of scientific progress depended.” Since 1959, information technology has emerged as having a global impact on all facets of industry. However, the “standards and measurement techniques” needed to maintain the scientific progress of information technology into the next century may not be in place. This paper discusses the current state of software metrics.