Empirical Validation of Information Theory-Based Software Metrics

Mississippi State University, Mississippi State MS

Investigators

Abstract

CCR-0098024 Empirical Validation of Information Theory-Based Software Metrics Edward B. Allen, P.I, and Rayford B. Vaughn, co-P.I. Empirical Validation of Information Theory-Based Software Metrics is a research project of Mississippi State University that is empirically validating the usefulness of a new generation of software metrics, based on information theory. Software engineers employ a wide variety of diagrams during development of software. Because many abstractions of software are represented by graphs, metrics of graph attributes have the potential for wide application. Information theory is an alternative to counting, focusing on the amount of information in an attribute. The contribution of this project to the state of the art is empirical evidence that information theory-based software metrics of size, length, complexity, coupling and cohesion can be useful timely predictors of software quality, and that they have advantages over counting-based metrics. Case studies in collaboration with industrial and government software development organizations are providing a meaningful evaluation by examining a variety of real-world software systems large enough to be comparable to other industry projects. Collaborators include EDS Inc., Ericsson Inc., and MPI Software Technology Inc. Results will be disseminated throught the Center for Empirically Based Software Engineering (CeBASE). The empirical evidence generated by this project is aimed to facilitate a new level of cost-effective improvement to software quality.