Open Access

Kseniia VasylievaORCiD, Thomas Brenner, Marco KuhrmannORCiD, Jürgen MünchORCiD

• Software has become a key component in spacecraft development. Due to the size and complexity of spacecraft development projects, multiple project stakeholders need to coordinate and exchange development data that must be integrated to provide a big picture. In this context, metrics as for instance defined in the standards such as the European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS) are important. To provide benefits, transparency and clear information regarding the selection and use of software metrics is critical. A lack of transparency and comprehensibility of the process for selecting and collecting key figures by the actors can lead to risks, e.g., important data is not collected or is collected incorrectly. In this paper, to support the streamlined AENEAS measurement tool chain, we developed a tool that helps manage and configure measurement packages that include agreed metrics to be collected in spacecraft development projects. To evaluate the tool, we populated it with 43 metrics from the ECSS-Q-HB-80-04A standard and used it in a case study within a student project. The case study revealed that while the tool facilitated the selection and definition of project metrics, its overall usefulness and clarity received mixed reviews, indicating the need for further improvements.