They need to be artifacts from the execution of system development processes.
- Process Input Measures
- In-Process Measures
- Output Measures
- Outcome Measures
The measures need to be consistent with industry best practices:
- Capability Maturity Model-Integrated (CMMI)
- Practical Software and Systems Measurement (PSM)
- ISO/IEC 1593 Software Measurement Process Framework
The measures need to answer an Information Need.
The measures need to be collected regularly, analyzed and reported.
The resulting information provided by the measurement analysis needs to be used in decision making, otherwise why bother?