Lack of Consensus on Measurement in Software Engineering: Investigation of Related Issues

Even though measurement is co nsidered an essential concept in recognized engineering disciplines, measures in software engineering are still far from being widely used. To figure out why software measurement has not yet gained enough peer recognition, this paper presents a set of issues that still have to be addressed adequately by the software measurement community. These issues were derived from the analysis of comments obtained during two Delphi studies and a Web based survey conducted to identify and reach a consensus on the fundamental principles of the discipline within the international software engineering community. The paper also discusses the application of metrology concepts as a research direction to address some of the measurement issues identified.