5.1 WHAT IS COMPLEXITY?

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Of course, it is easy to talk in terms of complexity but it is not always so easy to pin down such a term. Towards the end of this chapter I will discuss aspects of complexity in more detail but, for now, I present a working definition:

"Complexity is the degree of entanglement within a system or its components"

Before we look at specific examples of Applied Design Metrics I would like to stress one other point. These techniques are not "management metrics" in the sense that they are used to assess performance at any level. They are in no way related to the normal productivity and quality metrics we looked at when discussing management statistics. These metrics are used by engineers or programmers on a daily basis. They should form part of the basic training and then the toolkit of every competent engineer working on software development or maintenance because more and more evidence is being presented that shows their use directly affecting delivered quality.

As with many aspects of Software Metrics there are many variations on the theme of Applied Design Metrics, one common classification being that of the inter and intra measures. Inter measures are concerned with the way in which modules or components connect while the intra measures are more concerned with assessing what goes on within an module. While this classification can be useful I believe that it is important to consider the application of any measurement-based technique in terms of its business benefit. For this reason I would like to concentrate on what are possibly the two most widely used and accepted design metrics and I wish to discuss them in terms of their business application. In fairness, I should add that these techniques are not universally accepted by the software engineering community and are often the subject of discussion. However, my belief is that they offer a clear route to rapid payback of the investment necessary to implement them in a business environment.

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