Determinants of variability in function point estimates

Ashok Subramanian, Mary C. Lacity

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cost control has become the motto for most business entities today. Information Systems departments are acutely aware of the need to manage their resources in a cost-effective manner. Consequently, efforts are underway to develop reliable metrics for measuring the size and complexity of software development projects. These metrics would then enable IS managers to effectively manage their portfolio of IS development projects by making optimum resource allocation decisions. Function Points represent one such metric which has gained much acceptance in the IS community. This study is an extension of previous studies which have examined the reliability of the function point metric. Specifically, the major components of Total Unadjusted Function Points (TUFPC) variability were determined and their relative significance was assessed. Students in a major Midwestern university were trained to estimate function points using Dreger's rules for counting function points. The results indicate that in order to minimize errors in TUFPC estimates, function point counters must focus on identifying the appropriate number of function points. The classification of functions into appropriate classes or the assignment of appropriate complexity weights did not appear to significantly influence the accuracy of TUFPC estimates. The study concludes with recommendations for practitioners as well as future research in this area.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)19-28
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of End User Computing
Volume9
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 1997
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Software

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