Measurement Contexts

The measurement context defines the environment in which an experiment runs. For example, when evaluating the performance of a middleware platform, the measurement context includes the specific hardware and operating system versions.
A measurement context can be inappropriate, ignored, inconsistent, or irreproducible:
Inappropriate Measurement Contexts
A measurement context is inappropriate when it is flawed or does not reflect the measurement context that is implicit in the claim. This may become manifest as an error or as a distraction (a "red herring").
Ignored Measurement Contexts
An aspect of the measurement context is ignored when an experiment design does not consider it even when it is necessary to support the claim.
Inconsistent Measurement Contexts
A measurement context is inconsistent when an experiment compares two systems and uses different measurement contexts for each system.
Irreproducible Measurement Contexts
If the measurement context is irreproducible then the experiment is also irreproducible. Measurement contexts may be irreproducible because either they are not public or they are not documented.