Editing Software metric (section)

{{short description|Measure of the degree to which software possesses some property}}
{{Software development process}}

In [[software engineering]] and [[Software development|development]], a '''software metric''' is a standard of measure of a degree to which a [[software system]] or process possesses some property.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Fenton|first=Norman E.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/834978252|title=Software metrics : a rigorous and practical approach|date=2014|others=James Bieman|isbn=978-1-4398-3823-5|edition=3rd|location=Boca Raton, FL|oclc=834978252}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Timóteo|first1=Aline Lopes|title=Software Metrics: A Survey|last2=Álvaro|first2=Re|last3=Almeida|first3=Eduardo Santana De|last4=De|first4=Silvio Romero|last5=Meira|first5=Lemos|citeseerx=10.1.1.544.2164}}</ref> Even if a metric is not a measurement (metrics are functions, while measurements are the numbers obtained by the application of metrics), often the two terms are used as synonyms. Since [[Quantitative research|quantitative measurement]]s are essential in all sciences, there is a continuous effort by [[computer science]] practitioners and theoreticians to bring similar approaches to software development. The goal is obtaining objective, reproducible and quantifiable measurements, which may have numerous valuable applications in schedule and budget planning, cost estimation, quality assurance, testing, software [[debugging]], software [[Program optimization|performance optimization]], and optimal personnel task assignments.