Actionable metrics are better metrics

A. Meneely    Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, United States

Abstract

True, data is just data. But humans use data to lie all the time… with metrics. Metrics are a huge part of our evidence-based society. Metrics drive what data we collect, determine the exact phrasing of our conclusions, and shape our perspectives. One wrong step with a metric, and we can grossly misunderstand the world around us.

Keywords

Metrics; Actionable; Emergent properties; Number of bugs; Code churn; Source code management; Number of callees; Cyclomatic complexity

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