A Metric is a measurement of the degree that any attribute belongs to a system, product or process. For example the number of errors per person hours would be a metric. Thus, software measurement gives rise to software metrics. A measurement is an indication of the size, quantity, amount or dimension of a particular attribute of a product or process. For example the number of errors in a system is a measurement.

Software measurement is required to:

• Establish the quality of the current product or process.

• To predict future qualities of the product or process.

• To improve the quality of a product or process.

• To determine the state of the project in relation to budget and schedule.