Mountain , Georgia , pp 137 - 149 Selecting An OO Metrics Suite : Lessons Learned

Introducing metrics to a software development organization is a complex process that begins with the difficult task of selecting a high pay-off basic suite of metrics to be implemented. The selection process is made more difficult by the fact that information on OO metrics and metrification in general is still found primarily in abstract research journals. The journals are not always accessible to industry developers, and the formats of the papers frequently reduce their immediate utility to practicing software engineers. This paper introduces the authors compendium of OO metric research and developments, the Georgia State University Object Oriented Metrics Resource Book (Resource Book) , and a novel method for the selection of metrics for industrial software development environments. The method evolved in the course of the development of practice focused handbooks from the Resource Book. The method is based on the proven Goal-QuestionMetric (GQM) paradigm, augmented to use metrics frameworks. Frameworks assist in the key area of modeling aspects of the product or process of interest. Once an appropriate model has been constructed, it becomes apparent which factors are amenable to numeric measure. In addition to the selection process model, we present a classification of some of the more widely useful metrics frameworks. A discussion of the use of the method in developing our handbooks is given, and then extended to show its broader utility.