Adapting function points to object oriented information systems (original) (raw)
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A function point-like measure for object-oriented software
1999
We present a method for estimating the size, and consequently effort and duration, of object oriented software development projects. Different estimates may be made in different phases of the development process, according to the available information. We define an adaptation of traditional function points, called "Object Oriented Function Points", to enable the measurement of object oriented analysis and design specifications. Tools have been constructed to automate the counting method. The novel aspect of our method is its flexibility. An organization can experiment with different counting policies, to find the most accurate predictors of size, effort, etc. in its environment. The method and preliminary results of its application in an industrial environment are presented and discussed.
Case Study Evaluations for a Function Point Counting Improvement for Object-Oriented Projects
Since the introduction of object-oriented (OO) development in industrial practice, many Function Point (FP) technique adaptations have been introduced to improve software size estimation in these kinds of projects. Current research work only deal with OO modifications to the previous version of the FP Counting Practices Manual (4.1). In this paper, we propose the use of the composition relationship analysis in classes to improve the rules included in FP Counting Practices Manual 4.2.1 for Internal Logic Files (ILF) and External Interface Files (EIF) identification. We also show the results obtained by applying our proposal in six case studies performed by practitioners and comparing against the results we obtained with undergraduate students. These results have proved to be at least equal in accuracy and consistency to the original FPA technique.
An Extended Function Point Approach for Size Estimation of Object-Oriented Software
Early and accurate estimation of software size plays a crucial role in facilitating effort and cost estimation of software systems. One of the widely used methodologies for software size estimation is Function Point Analysis (FPA). Several approaches which adapt this methodology to Object Oriented (OO) Software have been proposed in the literature. However, these approaches lack clarity in providing precise directives for the identification of FPA components. Further, when a particular class is involved in multiple interactions such as aggregation, association and inheritance, its complexity calculation is ambiguous. In order to address these issues, this paper proposes a new and enhanced approach for OO software size estimation by providing rules that better guide the practitioners. This paper discusses a sample case study describing the applicability of the proposed approach. The developmental size predicted by applying the proposed approach for a set of sample projects correlates well with the size prediction obtained through the existing approaches. Thus, the proposed approach provides simple and unambiguous guidelines for the identification of FPA components as well as for the calculation of complexity due to each one of those components, without adversely affecting the accuracy of software size estimation.
Class Point: An Approach for the Size Estimation of Object-Oriented Systems
IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, 2005
In this paper, we present an FP-like approach, named class point, which was conceived to estimate the size of object-oriented products. In particular, two measures are proposed, which are theoretically validated showing that they satisfy well-known properties necessary for size measures. An initial, empirical validation is also performed, meant to assess the usefulness and effectiveness of the proposed measures to predict the development effort of object-oriented systems. Moreover, a comparative analysis is carried out, taking into account several other size measures.
An Innovative Model for Object-Oriented Costs Estimating
ABSTRACT. The object-oriented technological evolution involving the software industry induces changes in the managerial and organizational models for the software-houses. One of the critical issue for software producers is the cost estimation and control. The research described in this paper is aimed to verify the inadequacy of traditional software cost estimation models and to define an innovative model tailored to the specificity of object-oriented technology. The comparison to other different models allows to discuss the resulting benefits and drawbacks. MOTS-CLÉS : object-oriented, estimation des coûts, effort de dèveloppement. KEY WORDS : object oriented, cost estimation, development effort.
Application of OO metrics to estimate .NET project software size
One of the key questions in software development is software size estimation. For systematic software size estimation, different methods are used, all of which have their roots in the Function Point Analysis (FPA) method. However, the elements and constructs of the FPA method are not directly applicable to object-oriented concepts: a mapping of object-oriented concepts to FPA elements is required. There are proposals for such mappings, but a serious calibration and validation process is required to ensure that the various parameters have been chosen in the most appropriate way. Such a validation implies the creation of effective product metrics working in environments like the industrial standard .NET platform. Since .NET is a typical multi-language environment, a product metric capturing all languages and producing comparable and accumulable results is hard and expensive to produce. Therefore we propose to solve the problem in the .NET Common Interface Language level: thus only one...
Automated software size estimation based on function points using UML models
Information and Software Technology, 2005
A systematic approach to software size estimation is important for accurate project planning. In this paper, we will propose the unified mapping of UML models into function points. The mapping is formally described to enable the automation of the counting procedure. Three estimation levels are defined that correspond to the different abstraction levels of the software system. The level of abstraction influences an estimate's accuracy. Our research, based on a small data set, proved that accuracy increases with each subsequent abstraction level. Changes to the FPA complexity tables for transactional functions will also be proposed in order to better quantify the characteristics of object-oriented software.
Function Point Size Estimation for Object Oriented Software Based on Use Case Model
Precise size estimation earlier in the software development life cycle has always been a challenge for the software industry. In the context of object oriented software, Use Case Model (UCM) is widely used to capture the functionality addressed in the software. Existing size estimation techniques such as use case points and use case size points do not adhere to any standard. Consequently, lots of variations are possible, leading to inaccurate size estimation. On the other hand, Function Point Analysis (FPA) has been standardized. However, the current estimation approaches based on FPA employ object modeling that happens later in the software development life cycle rather than the UCM. In order to gain the advantages of FPA as well as UCM, this paper proposes a new approach for size estimation of object oriented software. This approach is based on the UCM by adapting it to FPA. Mapping rules are proposed for proper identification and classification of various components from UCM to FPA. Estimation results obtained using the proposed approach are compared with those using finer granular level object model which adapts FPA at design phase. The close agreement between these two results indicates that the proposed approach is suitable for accurate software size estimation earlier in the software development life cycle.
2014 14th International Conference on Computational Science and Its Applications, 2014
Empirical studies are important in software engineering to evaluate new tools, techniques, methods and technologies in a structured way before they are introduced in the industrial (real) software process. Perform empirical studies in a real context is very difficult due to various obstacles. An interesting alternative is perform empirical studies in an educational context using students as subjects and share the results with the academia and the industry. This paper describes a case study with two teams that developed a software system (Web application) for a real customer. In this study we used a model based on Function Points Analysis (FPA) to estimate the size and complexity of software system.
Information Sciences, 2006
Early estimation of the size of a software product is extremely important. In this paper we analyzetwo software packages developed by a CMM level 3 software firm. We study if any property of analysis objects can be used to infer the size of the final code in an object-oriented environment. Inboth cases we find the number of methods well correlated with software size, in the sense that thecorrelation with the final size is high (r > 0.77) and significant at the level .05. Inferential statisticsguarantee that the results of this study are also applicable outside the scope of the two projects