Measurement and metrology requirements for empirical studies in software engineering

Abstract

'Software metrics' are most often proposed as the measurement tools of choice in empirical studies in software engineering, and the field of 'software metrics' is most often discussed from the perspective referred to as 'measurement theory'. However, in other disciplines, it is the domain of knowledge referred to as 'metrology' that is the foundation for the development and use of measurement instruments and measurement processes. In this paper, our initial modeling of the sets of measurement concepts documented in the ISO International Vocabulary of Basic and General Terms in Metrology is used to investigate and position the measurement concepts referred to in the Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge. This structured analysis reveals that much work remains to be done to introduce the full set of measurement and metrology concepts as fundamental tools for empirical studies in software engineering.