Defining product metrics requires a rigorous and disciplined approach because useful metrics depend, to a very large extent, on one's goals and assumptions about the studied software process. Unlike in more mature scientific fields, it appears difficult to devise a "universal" set of metrics in software engineering.

In this paper, we propose a metric definition process which is

based on both the experimental goals of measurement, expressed via the GQM paradigm, and the study of the metrics' mathematical properties. This process integrates several research contributions from the literature into a consistent and practical process. This process is intended to be a starting point for discussion about a widely accepted, practical product metric definition process in the software engineering community. (Also cross-referenced as UMIACS-TR-94-106)