Presented by Daniel French & Carol Dekkers
Session Description: Roberto Meli developed a more streamlined function point analysis methodology based on the International Function Point User Group (IFPUG) standard function point methodology and released it in Italy in 2010. The Simple Function Point (formerly SiFP, now known as SFP) reduced the number of functions from 5, the 3 transactional functions, External Inputs (EI), External Inquiries (EQ), External Outputs (EO) and 2 data functions Internal Logical Files (ILF) and External Interface Files (EIF) to 2 functions, the Elementary Process (EP) and the Logical File (LF). And rather than having to determine the the type of function and its associated complexity by counting Data Element Types (DET), File Types Referenced (FTR) and Record Element Types (RET) to determine if a function is low, average or high complexity to ascribe a Function Point value, assigns one FP value, 4.6 for an EP and 7 for a LF. This allows for more rapid and cost efficient determination of the function sizing of software with out a significant reduction in accuracy. This presentation will introduce the SFP methodology and highlight the challenges and opportunities for software cost estimators who need to estimate software size from high level software requirements. We will also explore the key differences between SFP and traditional IFPUG FP, including guidance for cost estimators using Function Point measures as the basis for their software cost estimates.
Speaker Bio:
Dan has twenty years of experience in a variety of IT roles including analyst, developer, tester, project management, software metrics and software estimation. He has developed CMMi and ISO compliant process improvement and software estimation processes.
Dan holds a B.S. in Economics from Virginia Tech and holds certification as a Lifetime CFPS, PMP and CSM. He also serves as The Certification Director on the IPFUG Board of Directors and is the past Chairman of the IFPUG Functional Software Sizing Committee (FSSC). He’s authored numerous white papers/presentations on software metrics, Agile, and estimation.
Carol Dekkers, PMP, CFPS (Fellow), P. Eng. (Canada) is the lead author of the ICEAA Software Cost Estimating Body of Knowledge (CEBoK-S), and CEO of Quality Plus Technologies, Inc. In May of 2022, The International Cost Estimating and Analysis Association (ICEAA) awarded Carol The Educator of the Year for her outstanding contribution to the CEBOK-S development. Ms. Dekkers is well respected globally as a leader in software measurement, with many years of consulting, speaking and authoring industry textbooks including The Software Measurement Compendium: Estimating and Benchmarking Success with Functional Size Measurement; Program Management Toolkit for Systems and Software Development, among others. She is the past president of IFPUG and a member of the U.S. software engineering delegation to ISO/IEC JTC1 SC7 standards. Carol is a Certified Scrum Master (CSM) whose latest endeavors involve coordinating COCOMO III to include FP and SNAP points and working with clients to streamline and simplify their measurement initiatives to achieve software estimation success. Carol holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Calgary.