Fundamentals of Function Point Analysis.pdfVIP

Fundamentals of Function Point Analysis By David Longstreet David@SoftwareMetrics.Com www.SoftwareMetrics.Com Abstract Systems continue to grow in size and complexity. They are becoming more and more difficult to understand. Improvement of coding tools allows software developers to produce large amounts of software to meet an ever-expanding need from users. As systems grow a method to understand and communicate size needs to be used. Function Point Analysis is a structured technique of problem solving. It is a method to break systems into smaller components, so they can be better understood and analyzed. Function points are a unit measure for software much like an hour is to measuring time, miles are to measuring distance or Celsius is to measuring temperature. Function Points are an ordinal measure much like other measures such as kilometers, Fahrenheit, hours, so on and so forth. Introduction Human beings solve problems by breaking them into smaller understandable pieces. Problems that may appear to be difficult are simple once they are broken into smaller parts -- dissected into classes. Classifying things, placing them in this or that category, is a familiar process. Everyone does it at one time or another -- shopkeepers when they take stock of what is on their shelves, librarians when they catalog books, secretaries when they file letters or documents. When objects to be classified are the contents of systems, a set of definitions and rules must be used to place these objects into the appropriate category, a scheme of classification. Function Point Analysis is a structured technique of classifying components of a system. It is a method to break systems into smaller components, so they can be better understood and analyzed. It provides a structured technique for problem solving. In the world of Function Point Analysis, syst