Jean-Claude Krynicki
INTRODUCTION TO “SOFT” METROLOGY
Outside of the classical physical and chemical metrologies, there is a large field of measurement, which is called dimensionless or “soft “ metrology by analogy with hard and soft sciences.
The objective of this presentation is to provide an overview of this field, to analyze the methods used and their linkage to classical metrology.
The author will take 3 examples, an historical one, the measurement of human character, and two modern research fields, software usability and customer satisfaction.
He will also show the recent efforts from the European Commission, as part of the New Emerging Sciences and Technologies program (N.E.S.T.), to increase the objectivity of these measurements.