Yes, I would say that a digital storage oscilloscope (DSO) or a logic analyzer would be absolutely needed since in regular operation, the piece of code being measured for time throughput, might only execute once.
To use an analog 'scope, you would have to modify the code to run the particular piece of code continuously.
I have used this method in the past, and if you take some screen shots, that should satisfy any anal retentive software manager. Real time results, not simulated results!

Jacob