Software Measurement is something that few people read about and even fewer people implement. One of the problems is the amount of effort required to do it properly; another is the paucity of well-written material. I have to admit that I have sometimes found the subject rather heavy going, particularly when it becomes (as it inevitably must) rather mathematical.

Happily, I found this book rather more readable than a number of other books I have had on the subject. The writing is clear, the organisation of the book is excellent and the material is first class. This book is published by the Software Productivity Consortium, an industry group consisting of 50 or so organisations, so it is based on considerable real- world experience with metrics.

There is a good general introduction to the role of metrics in software management, but the bulk of the book is devoted to detailed discussion of topics such as key estimation formulas; requirements verification; selecting metrics; estimation methods for size, cost and schedule; indicators for monitoring projects and defect prediction.

One excellent aspect of the book is that it looks closely at the software measurement requirements of the SEI's Capability Maturity Model. There is a substantial chapter devoted entirely to discussing the software measurement aspects of the CMM.

This isn't an easy book to read, but that is more the nature of the subject than the book. If you are involved with software metrics, particularly if you are implementing CMM, then I think this would be a very useful addition to your bookshelf.