The IWSM Mensura conference is the result of the joining of forces of the International Workshop on Software Measurement and the International Conference on Software Process and Product Measurement (Mensura). Together they form the conference where new ideas from the world of academic research meet practical improvements from industry on topics of measuring software. Each year practitioners and researchers from all over the world gather together to learn about new developments, test new ideas and exchange possible new solutions and applications.

The 2020 conference in Mexico is the 30th edition of the conference. Read the historical overview in the March 2020 issue of Software Measurement News.

Why do we have this conference

The pressure for more efficient software development and maintenance processes delivering appropriate quality is constantly increasing. Software measurement is a key technology with which to manage and to control software development projects and software maintenance activities. Measurement is essential to any engineering activity, by increasing the scientific and technical knowledge for both the practice of software development and maintenance and for empirical research in software technology. For this reason the IWSM Mensura conference facilitates the exchange of software measurement experiences between academic theory and industry practice.

The International Workshop on Software Measurement (IWSM) has a big tradition that started in 1990 with a small working group in Germany with professor Reiner Dumke of the Otto von Güricke Universität in Magdeburg, Christof Ebert of Alcatel and professor Horst Zuse of the Technical University of Berlin. During the nineties the team of professor Alain Abran from the University of Québec joined in. Until 2006 the IWSM rotated between the Montréal area in Canada and various German cities.

The International Conference on Software Process and Product Measurement (also known as Mensura, the roman word for to measure) was founded in 2006 by professor Juan J Cuadrado Gallego from the University of Alcalá (Spain). The first edition was held in Cádiz.

To foster research, practice and exchange of experiences and best practices in 2007 both conferences joined forces and held a joint conference on the Island of Mallorca. Since then both conferences act as a combined conference and the conference is now traveling around the world.