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From: kambic@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com (George X. Kambic, Allen-Bradley Inc.)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re:  use of metrics
Message-ID: <1991Jun14.112842.4870@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com>
Date: 14 Jun 91 16:28:42 GMT
References: <801@tivoli.UUCP> <35353@mimsy.umd.edu> <1991Jun7.173800.23746@auto-trol.com> <35391@mimsy.umd.edu>
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In article <35391@mimsy.umd.edu>, cml@cs.umd.edu (Christopher Lott) writes:
> In article <1991Jun7.173800.23746@auto-trol.com> alesha@auto-trol.com (Alec Sharp) writes:
>>Developed by Victor Basili it says: Set your goals.  To know if you
>>are meeting those goals, you have to ask certain questions.  To answer
>>those questions you need information, some of which can only come from
>>measurements.
>>
>>Preserve your sanity - don't institute metrics for their own sake.
>>Set well defined, well understood, well accepted goals, and measure
>>only those things that answer the questions that must be answered.
To set well defined goals, that are well understood and accepted you 
must know exactly where you are now.  That is not the case is sw engineering
at this point in its development.  The paradigm that Basili sets is good, but
I think is well within the confines of standard project management projects,
only applied to software.  IMHO you cannot have a well defined goal in 

Hey Chris - with Basili as your advisor, here's a thesis topic.  Create 
a new software company, get funding, keep it profitable for 4 years, 
win the Macolm Baldridge award, and you walk out with Ph.D.'s in marketing
and software engineering.  8:-).

Jus' random thoughts....

GXKambic
standard sanity preserving disclaimer