Measure, Metric, and Indicator: An Object-Oriented Approach for Consistent Terminology

Since the inception of the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) and the initial Capability Maturity Model (CMM), the focus on, and identification of, software metrics has grown and continues to grow. However, a problem exists because the words central to the topic, specifically measure and metric, are ill defined, overloaded, contradictory, and used interchangeably within the industry by both researchers and organizations. Without consistent usage of these core terms both meta-analysis and discussions are counter-productive. An approach to providing consistency is proposed that examines the terms measure, metrics, and indicator from an Object-Oriented perspective. A Unified Modeling Language (UML) class diagram is provided to represent clarification of the concepts of measure, metric, and indicator as well as the relationship between the three concepts. Three examples, all related to the measure source lines of code (SLOC), are provided operationalizing the conceptual nature of the Class Diagram. As a critical sub-discipline in its own right, consolidation of meanings is important to the entire software industry, not just the Object-Oriented software development community.