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Metrics For Project Size Estimation

The document discusses two metrics used to estimate project size: lines of code and function points. Lines of code counts source instructions but varies by coding style and does not capture complexity. Function points measure five problem characteristics and better reflect effort required. It assigns weighted values to inputs, outputs, inquiries and files/interfaces to calculate unadjusted function points, then adjusts based on technical complexity factors.

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Subarna chowdhury
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166 views

Metrics For Project Size Estimation

The document discusses two metrics used to estimate project size: lines of code and function points. Lines of code counts source instructions but varies by coding style and does not capture complexity. Function points measure five problem characteristics and better reflect effort required. It assigns weighted values to inputs, outputs, inquiries and files/interfaces to calculate unadjusted function points, then adjusts based on technical complexity factors.

Uploaded by

Subarna chowdhury
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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METRICS FOR PROJECT

SIZE ESTIMATION
 Accurate estimation of problem size is fundamental to satisfactory estimation of
 Effort
 Time duration
 Cost
 The project size is a measure of problem complexity in terms of effort and time required to
develop the product.
 Two metrics are widely used to estimate size
 Lines of code (LOC)
 Function point metric (FP)
Lines of Code (LOC)

 Popular and simplest to use.


 Project size is estimated by counting the number of source instructions.
 Determining the LOC count at the end of the project is very simple.
 To deter mine the LOC count at the beginning of project the problem is
divided into modules, and each modules to submodules and so on to
approximately predict the LOC count for each module.
SHORTCOMINGS IN LOC METHOD

 LOC gives a numerical value of problem size that can vary widely with
individual coding style.
 A good problem size measure should consider the overall complexity of the
problem and effort needed to solve it.
 LOC measure corelates poorly with the quality and efficiency of the code.
 LOC metric penalizes use of higher level programming language, code reuse,
etc.
 LOC metric measures lexical complexity of a program and does not address
more important logical or structural complexities.
 It is very difficult to accurately estimate LOC from problem specification at
the beginning.
FUNCTION POINT METRIC

 Alan Albrecht while working for IBM, recognized the problem in size
measurement in the 1970s, and developed a technique (which he called
Function Point Analysis), which appeared to be a solution to the size
measurement problem.
 The principle of Albrecht’s function point analysis (FPA) is that the size of
software product is directly dependent on the number of different functions
and features it supports.
FIVE PROBLEM CHARACTERISTICS

 Inputs : information entering the system


 Outputs : information leaving the system
 Enquiries : requests for instant access to
information
 Internal logical files : information held within the
system
 External interface files : information held by other system
that is used by the system being
analyzed.
Function Point Calculation
 The first step is to calculate Unadjusted Function Point (UFP)

UFP=(Number of inputs)*4 + (Number of outputs)*5 + (Number of inquiries)*4 + (Number of files)*10


+ (Number of interfaces)*7

Weighting factors
Functional Units
Low Average High
External Inputs (EI) 3 4 6
External Output (EO) 4 5 7
External Inquiries (EQ) 3 4 6
External logical files (ILF) 7 10 15
External Interface files (EIF) 5 7 10
Technical Complexity Factor (TCF)

 TCF= (0.65+0.01*DI)
DI stands for Degree of Influence

 The FPA method recognizes 14 General System Characteristics (GSC) that


influence the Function Point Count  (FPC).  
 Each GSC has associated descriptions that help determine the degree of
influence of that characteristic.
 The rating for the degree of influence for each characteristic ranges on a
scale of 0 to 5, from no influence (and no difficulty) to strong influence (and
extreme difficulty).
14 GENERAL SYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS (GSC)
1. Does the system require reliable backup and recovery ?
2. Is data communication required ?
3. Are there distributed processing functions ?
4. Is performance critical ?
5. Will the system run in an existing heavily utilized operational environment ?
6. Does the system require on line data entry ?
7. Does the on line data entry require the input transaction to be built over multiple screens or operations ?
8. Are the master files updated on line ?
9. Is the inputs, outputs, files, or inquiries complex ?
10. Is the internal processing complex ?
11. Is the code designed to be reusable ?
12. Are conversion and installation included in the design ?
13. Is the system designed for multiple installations in different organizations ?
14. Is the application designed to facilitate change and ease of use by the user
FUNCTION POINT

 Finally function point can be calculated as:


FP=UFP*TCF
EXAMPLE

 Consider a project with the following functional units:


 Number of user inputs = 50
 Number of user outputs = 40
 Number of user enquiries = 35
 Number of user files = 06
 Number of external interfaces = 04
Assume all complexity adjustment factors and weighting factors are average.
Compute the function points for the project.
Solution

 UFP = 50 x 4 + 40 x 5 + 35 x 4 + 6 x 10 + 4 x 7
= 200 + 200 + 140 + 60 + 28 = 628
 TCF = (0.65 + 0.01 *DI)
= (0.65 + 0.01 (14 x 3)) = 0.65 + 0.42 = 1.07
 FP = UFP x TCF
= 628 x 1.07 = 672

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