Having measured complexity metrics for each item in the code-base, we want to figure out which items are excessively complex and by how much. This is achieved with Structure101 defined thresholds for the Fat for each item kind (method, class, package and design).

The industry norm for the maximum number of paths through a function is usually 10-15. By default, Structure101 takes the value of 15 as the threshold for Fat at method level. A value greater than 15 is therefore considered to be "excessive complexity".

Fat at the other points of breakout are measured as the number of edges in the corresponding dependency graph. There is no industry norm for this value, but we have found that 120 is a good start-point for most projects.

The threshold for design tangles is 0% - package-level dependency tangles are always considered undesirable.

Next we define to what degree an item is excessively complex.