Experimental determination of characteristics of dc motors is quite important for their accurate performance prediction. Exhaustive literature review reveals experimental procedures that have been used to obtain these characteristics. Every practiced method has its own limitations and constraints. This paper describes a computer based novel system for measuring the characteristics(speed versus torque ,torque versus armature current, speed versus armature current) of a dc motor and automatic post-experimental data processing. Experimentally measured results of a 0.5HP dc shunt motor using the discussed scheme are presented in the paper. Also, a comparison of methodology of this system with conventional techniques for computing speed-torque curves has been elaborated to show the effectiveness of the system. Furthermore, it is asserted that the automated system described in this paper can be used to obtain the characteristics of other types and rating of dc motors also