System integrators considering software components depend on component suppliers to adequately describe their components. A component description must be trustworthy and contain sufficient detail for integrators to understand its real abilities. In response to this dilemma, the European Clear and Reliable Information for Integration project (CLARIFI) developed a new flexible, property-value approach to describing components that makes it possible to similarly manage simple and complex properties. To ensure trustworthiness of these descriptions, the project also proposes a certification scheme that uses software measurement techniques to provide a quantitative approach to certification.