Software Measurement Guidebook. Document number SEL-94-002. Greenbelt, Md.: Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA, 1994. This is an excellent introductory book that describes the basics of how and why to establish a measurement program. Among other highlights, it includes a chapter of experience-based guidelines, lots of sample data from NASA projects, and an extensive set of sample data-collection forms. You can obtain a single copy for free by writing to Software Engineering Branch, Code 552, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771.

Grady, Robert B., and Deborah L. Caswell. Software Metrics: Establishing a Company-Wide Program. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1987. Grady and Caswell describe their experiences in establishing a software-metrics program at Hewlett-Packard and how to establish one in your organization.

Grady, Robert B. Practical Software Metrics for Project Management and Process Improvement. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: PTR Prentice Hall, 1992. This book is the follow-on to Grady and Caswell's earlier book and extends the discussion of lessons learned at Hewlett-Packard. It contains a particularly nice presentation of a set of software business-management graphs, each of which is annotated with the goals and questions that the graph was developed in response to.

Jones, Capers. Applied Software Measurement: Assuring Productivity and Quality. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1991. This book contains Jones's recommendations for setting up an organization-wide measurement program. It is a good source of information on functional metrics (the alternative to lines-of-code metrics). It describes problems of measuring software, various approaches to measurement, and the mechanics of building a measurement baseline. It also contains excellent general discussions of the factors that contribute to quality and productivity.

Conte, S. D., H. E. Dunsmore, and V. Y. Shen. Software Engineering Metrics and Models. Menlo Park, Calif.: Benjamin/Cummings, 1986. This book catalogs software-measurement knowledge, including commonly used measurements, experimental techniques, and criteria for evaluating experimental results. It is a useful, complementary reference to either of Grady's books or to Jones's book.

IEEE Software, July 1994. This issue focuses on measurement-based process improvement. The issue contains articles that discuss the various process-rating scales and industrial experience reports in measurement-based process improvement.