Object-Oriented Design Measurement [Hardcover]

Scott A. Whitmire (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471134171 | ISBN-13: 978-0471134176 | Publication Date: September 1997 | Edition: 1

Scott A. Whitmire is a partner in Advanced Systems Research, consultants in object-oriented software development and metrics. He has more than fifteen years' experience as an applications developer and has served on several IEEE software standards committees.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Once in a while, a potentially classic book comes along - one that is built not only to last but also to have a lasting impact on its field. In this case, Scott Whitmire's text is likely to offer significant influences on the very foundational ideas underpinning object technology. -from the Foreword by Brian Henderson-Sellers, Director, Centre for Object Technology Applications and Research (Victoria, Australia). A thought-provoking presentation of both the foundations of measurement theory and Whitmire's experience-driven approach to adapting measurement technology to support the design of high-quality, object-oriented software. -Charlie Cox, Senior Consultant, ISPI, Inc. Based on a thorough study of measurement theory, category theory, and a strong mathematic foundation, Scott Whitmire presents his own formal model of objects-a ground-breaking development for object-oriented design measurement. Using this model, or any other formal model, you can create a custom metric for any design characteristic you can describe through careful observation. This indispensable book guides you through the development process for nine unique design characteristics, including a controversial new quality of abstraction characteristic, which combines Sufficiency, Completeness, and Cohension to help you determine the extent to which components include all the features required of your design. With Object-Oriented Design Measurement, you'll get measures you can use right now to save time and money on software design, practical guidance through the process of creating your own measures, a culled history of metrics that pulls out the lessons learned for object technology, a mathematical basis for design simulation, a framework in which to place measures by audience, object of measurement, and purpose, and formal definitions and measures for design characteristics of object-oriented measures used in industry today, and new fashioned.

From the Back Cover

"Once in a while, a potentially classic book comes along--one that is built not only to last but also to have a lasting impact on its field. In this case, Scott Whitmire's text is likely to offer significant influences on the very foundational ideas underpinning object technology." -- from the Foreword by Brian Henderson-Sellers Director, Centre for Object Technology Applications and Research (Victoria, Australia)

"A thought-provoking presentation of both the foundations of measurement theory and Whitmire's experience-driven approach to adapting measurement technology to support the design of high-quality, object-oriented software." -- Charlie Cox, Senior Consultant, ISPI, Inc.

Based on a thorough study of measurement theory, category theory, and a strong mathematic foundation, Scott Whitmire presents his own formal model of objects-- a ground-breaking development for object-oriented design measurement. Using this model, or any other formal model, you can create a custom metric for any design characteristic you can describe through careful observation. This indispensable book guides you through the development process for nine unique design characteristics, including a controversial new "quality of abstraction" characteristic, which combines Sufficiency, Completeness, and Cohesion to help you determine the extent to which components include all the features required of your design.

With Object-Oriented Design Measurement, you'll get:
* Measures you can use right now to save time and money on software design
* Practical guidance through the process of creating your own measures
* A culled history of metrics that pulls out the lessons learned for object technology
* A mathematical basis for design simulation
* A framework in which to place measures by audience, object of measurement, and purpose
* Formal definitions and measures for design characteristics of object-oriented measures used in industry today, and new-fashioned measures like Primitiveness and Similarity

Visit our Web site at www.wiley.com/compbooks/

Product Details

• Hardcover: 452 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471134171
• ISBN-13: 978-0471134176
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,771,638 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Measurement, Design, and Process in one cover!, October 24, 1997

By 

Ready for a new adventure! "Novice smoker" (Chicago area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Object-Oriented Design Measurement (Hardcover)

Reading Mr. Whitmire's book helped me understand the need for utilizing newer technologies, and provided the ways to accomplish them and the measures to determine the effectiveness. It gave me the confidence I need to get off the mark and move on using the technologies he presents and explains so well. A must read for technicians as well as managers in software development.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An important work - also of interest to security pros, February 18, 2001

By 

Mike Tarrani "www.tarrani.com" (Deltona, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Object-Oriented Design Measurement (Hardcover)

I first encountered Mr. Whitmire's work nearly ten years ago when I read on of his articles on 3-D function points. From that time on I have followed his writing.

This book shows Mr. Whitmire at his finest: someone who thoroughly knows his subject and is willing to dig deeply into difficult topics and concepts. In this book he applies his keen intellect to classifying and explaining the body of knowledge devoted to object-oriented design measurement.

He starts by putting measurement into the context of software engineering. This is done with a thoroughness lays the foundation for the rest of the book. The section on the design process is excellent. If you are a highly technical project manager or involved in the estimation process you will find this section invaluable. The section on selecting measures finishes the first part of the book and arms you with enough information begin using O-O design measurement.

Part II of the book is not for the faint of heart, but is necessary reading if you truly want to understand object oriented design measurement (and the rest of the book). It is devoted to the technical foundations of design measurement, and gets into some interesting territory (well, I found it interesting - your mileage will vary). It starts with set theory and drills down into all of the related math. Be prepared to engage in deep thinking here. Your efforts will prepare you for the next section, which covers measurement theory in the same detail. If you make it through the math you will have passed a significant milestone and will be well on your way to understanding object oriented measurement. You will also find the section on the theory of objects to be easier reading, and you will also see objects in a completely different way. It is here (after plowing through the previous sections of the book) that I saw how I could apply this book to topics that on the surface had little to do with the author's original scope. For example, I saw immediate application of the principles in security; specifically, role based access controls and directory. This was reinforced in Section III, which covers design characteristics, complexity, coupling and completeness, and other essential characteristics.

Who will find this book useful? Architects and project estimators working on object-oriented projects are the primary audience. If you are in an organization that wants to achieve CMM level 4 or 5, then the technical foundations of design measurement will prove invaluable. If you are in a CMM level 4 or 5 organization then this book will also be of interest to members of the PMO (program management office) and SEPG (software engineering process group). I also believe that systems security professionals who are developing role based access controls and enterprise directory services designers would greatly benefit from this book.