Candidate Metrics for Object Oriented Software within a Taxonomy Framework

This paper offers an overview of the state-of-the-art in OO metrics as well as some new contributions. The usefulness of metrics is reviewed. The inappropriateness of "traditional" metrics to encompass development under the OO paradigm is discussed. A framework for classifying metrics is suggested. Metrics are classified along two vectors: category and granularity. The usefulness and rationale behind each category are presented. Candidate metrics are suggested within the proposed framework. Finally, some research directions that require further effort are identified.