Function Point Analysis (FPA) based Software Estimation

Course details

Function Point Analysis (FPA)is an ISO recognized method to measure the functional size of an information system. The functional size reflects the amount of functionality that is relevant to and recognized by the user in the business. It is independent of the technology used to implement the system. Function point analysis measures software by quantifying the functionality the software provides to the user based primarily on logical design. With this in mind, the objectives of function point analysis are to:

 Measure functionality that the user requests and receives

 Measure software development and maintenance independently of technology used for implementation

 In addition to meeting the above objectives, the process of counting function points should be: Simple enough to minimize the overhead of the measurement process and A consistent measure among various projects and organizations

Organizations can apply function point analysis as:

 A tool to determine the size of a purchased application package by counting all the functions included in the package

 A tool to help users determine the benefit of an application package to their organization by counting functions that specifically match their requirements

 A tool to measure the units of a software product to support quality and productivity analysis

 A vehicle to estimate cost and resources required for software development and maintenance

 A normalization factor for software comparison