Functional Point Analysis

Functional Point measures software size by quantifying the functionality provided to the user based solely on logical design and functional specifications. With this in mind, the objectives of FP counting are to:

• Measure functionality that the user requests and receives.
• Measure software development and maintenance rates and size independently of the technology used for implementation.
• Provide a normalizing measure across projects and organizations.

Functional Point is a unit of measure of size of functionality of a software project or application from a logical (not physical) point of view. Function points measure the application functionality independent of the technology or implementation style used. ¨ Standard rules and guidelines are used to determine what constitutes a software function and how to measure its size.  The Function Point specialist's responsibility is to understand the application's functionality and apply the Function Point rules to determine the size of the entire application or project in terms of function points.  The project team's responsibility is to organize and present the software functionality to the Function Point specialist and review the final count.

Documentation we use during FP calculations:

• High level System Diagram (show interfaces to external systems)
• Architecture Document
• Logical Process Model
• Logical Data Model (e.g., E-R Diagram, object model)
• System Requirements Document
• Sample Screens or Screen Layout
• Sample reports or Report layout
• System Interface Agreements
• User Manuals
• Design Specification
• Database Layout (e.g., DB Schema)

 

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• Strategic planning
• Assessment – requirement definitions
• System design
• Code development
• Testing
• Implementation