A short course in metrics measurement dysfunction

摘要

Relatively few software publishers (or in-house IT groups) have metrics programs in place. Many have tried, few have succeeded. I don't think that the widespread failure of metrics programs in the field is due to a lack of professionalism, laziness, lack of interest in quality or lack of sophistication of the staff. Rather, I think the failures stem from mistrust of the measurements and the people who take them, lack of respect for the models that relate the measurements taken to the constructs they supposedly measure, and examples of manipulation or misues of the data collected. These are serious problems. We should take them seriously.