Process / pipelineCode quality assessment

Software Complexity Metrics

Software complexity metrics quantify the structural and operational difficulty of code through numerical measurements. Introduced by Thomas McCabe in 1976, cyclomatic complexity became the foundational approach. These metrics assess maintainability, testability, and defect risk, enabling teams to identify problematic code regions and guide refactoring efforts.

Open in MethodMindSoonVideoSoon

Read the full method

Members only

Sign in with a free account to read this section.

Sign in

Sources

  1. McCabe, T. J. (1976). A complexity measure. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, 2(4), 308–320. DOI: 10.1109/TSE.1976.233837
  2. Chidamber, S. R., & Kemerer, C. F. (1994). A metrics suite for object-oriented design. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, 20(6), 476–493. DOI: 10.1109/32.295895
  3. Halstead, M. H. (1977). Elements of Software Science. Elsevier. link

Related methods

Referenced by

ScholarGateSoftware Complexity Metrics (Software Complexity Metrics and Measurement). Retrieved 2026-06-04 from https://scholargate.app/en/software-engineering/software-complexity-metrics