ABSTRACT
Measurement tools simply produce numbers. These numbers are simply data. For the numbers to be made meaningful, they must first be converted to information. This information can, in turn, be used to monitor and change the software development information process. There are really three parts, then, to a measurement system. First, we must have tools that generate the measurement data. Hopefully, the data produced will be meaningful and valid. Second, we must have in place a strategy to manage the data. The data must be sent to a data repository where it can be structured in relation to other data for easy access in the future. Finally, we must have tools in place to convert the data to information.
