The measurement of software design quality

  • Authors:

  • James Kenneth Blundell;Mary Lou Hines;Jerrold Stach

  • Affiliations:

  • Computer Science Telecommunications Program, University of Missouri–Kansas City, 5100 Rockhill Road, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA E-mail: blundell@ cstp.umkc.edu;Computer Science Telecommunications Program, University of Missouri–Kansas City, 5100 Rockhill Road, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA E-mail: blundell@ cstp.umkc.edu;Computer Science Telecommunications Program, University of Missouri–Kansas City, 5100 Rockhill Road, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA E-mail: blundell@ cstp.umkc.edu

  • Venue:
  • Annals of Software Engineering
  • Year:
  • 1997

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Abstract

Software quality involves the conformance of a software product to some predefined set of functional requirements at a specified level of quality. The software is considered valid when it conforms to these “quality factors” at some acceptable level. There are a large number of quality factors against which software may be validated. This paper discusses the development of traditional software metrics in relation to the anticipated structure of a software system. The taxonomy of a software system primarily relies upon the dissection of the software system into modules. Modular design is the cornerstone of quality software, and metrics that can predict an optimum modular structure are critical. By examining the theoretical bases on quality metrics, a base set of common quantitative metrics can be devised and mapped to quality metrics in which they reside. This paper surveys existing metrics and suggests the derivation of software design metrics from software quality factors. Measurable software attributes are identified and suggested as potential design metrics.