ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how to use software metrics as a basis for making management decisions. It describes the sources and methods of collection for the data presented and demonstrates how cost and frequency-of-change information can be used with technical metrics to provide comparisons of cost for quality and productivity. Most information systems departments do not have formal methods for measuring their programming and maintenance activities. A comprehensive measurement program would combine software quality metrics, frequency, and quantity of change information with cost or effort information to provide an accurate picture of current programming practices. The software metrics data is a combination of statistics that have been gathered over five years by both Language Technology, Inc. Cost metrics describe the value of a particular activity, whereas technical metrics evaluate the quality of its implementation. The drop in quality reflected in this quadrant results in an increase in the number of lines of dead code.
