Automated functional size measurement: A multiple case study in the industry

Abstract

Automating functional size measurement (FSM) for software applications that use specific development frameworks is a challenge for the industry. Although FSM automation brings benefits such as sav- ings in time and costs, and better measure reliability, it is difficult to implement. In this paper, we present a multi-case study that evaluates the accuracy of an automated procedure for software size estimation in the context of a software development company. This procedure is implemented by a tool called FastWorks FPA, which obtains the IFPUG FPA function point estimation of software applications modeled in the company’s FastWorks framework. We describe the measurement process used by the tool, and discuss the results of the case studies. The accuracy (magnitude of relative error) of the measurements computed by the tool ranged between 3.9% and 12.9%, based on the total unadjusted function points. These results provide evidence for the feasibility of automating the counting process, as the tool’s estimated functional size reasonably approximates the result of specialists’ manual counting.