Nomenclature unification of software product measures

Abstract

A large number of software quality prediction models are based on software product measures (SPdMs). There are different interpretations and representations of these measures which generate inconsistencies in their naming conventions. These inconsistencies affect the efforts to develop a generic approach to predict software quality. This study identifies two types of such inconsistencies and categorises them into Type I and Type II. Type I inconsistency emerges when different labels are suggested for the same software product measure. Type II inconsistency appears when same label is used for different measures. This study suggests a unification and categorisation framework to remove Type I and Type II inconsistencies. The proposed framework categorises SPdMs with respect to three dimensions: usage frequency, software development paradigm and software lifecycle phase. The framework is applied to 140 SPdMs and a searchable unified measures database (UMD) is developed. Overall, 48.5% of the measures are found inconsistent. Out of the total measures studied 34.28% measures are frequently used. It has been found that 30.71% measures are used in object oriented paradigm and 31.43% measures are used in conventional paradigm. There is an overlap of 37.86% measures between the two paradigms. The UMD reveals that the percentages of measures used in design and implementation phases are 52.86 and 35%, respectively.