Using a Line of Code Metric to Understand Software Rework

Developers should factor rework into sizing and productivity calculations when estimating software effort. Reworked code is software created during development that doesn't exist in the final build. Using lines of code as a sizing metric is helpful when estimating projects with similar domains, platforms, processes, development teams, and coding constraints. A simple method can measure new effective lines of code (nLOC)—that is, added, changed, or deleted nonblank, noncomment lines of code—during development. Analysis of three projects shows that between 19 and 40 percent of the code written wasn't in the final release, with the nLOC measured biweekly and accumulated over each project's development.