Object point

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Object points are an approach used in software development effort estimation under some models such as COCOMO II. [1] [2]

In software development, effort estimation is the process of predicting the most realistic amount of effort required to develop or maintain software based on incomplete, uncertain and noisy input. Effort estimates may be used as input to project plans, iteration plans, budgets, investment analyses, pricing processes and bidding rounds.

The Constructive Cost Model (COCOMO) is a procedural software cost estimation model developed by Barry W. Boehm. The model parameters are derived from fitting a regression formula using data from historical projects.

Object points are a way of estimating effort size, similar to Source Lines Of Code (SLOC) or Function Points. They are not necessarily related to objects in Object-oriented programming, the objects referred to include screens, reports, and modules of the language. The number of raw objects and complexity of each are estimated and a weighted total Object-Point count is then computed and used to base estimates of the effort needed. [3]

Source lines of code (SLOC), also known as lines of code (LOC), is a software metric used to measure the size of a computer program by counting the number of lines in the text of the program's source code. SLOC is typically used to predict the amount of effort that will be required to develop a program, as well as to estimate programming productivity or maintainability once the software is produced.

A function point is a "unit of measurement" to express the amount of business functionality an information system provides to a user. Function points are used to compute a functional size measurement (FSM) of software. The cost of a single unit is calculated from past projects.

Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm based on the concept of "objects", which can contain data, in the form of fields, and code, in the form of procedures. A feature of objects is an object's procedures that can access and often modify the data fields of the object with which they are associated. In OOP, computer programs are designed by making them out of objects that interact with one another. OOP languages are diverse, but the most popular ones are class-based, meaning that objects are instances of classes, which also determine their types.

See also

Use Case Points (UCP) is a software estimation technique used to forecast the software size for software development projects. UCP is used when the Unified Modeling Language (UML) and Rational Unified Process (RUP) methodologies are being used for the software design and development. The concept of UCP is based on the requirements for the system being written using use cases, which is part of the UML set of modeling techniques. The software size (UCP) is calculated based on elements of the system use cases with factoring to account for technical and environmental considerations. The UCP for a project can then be used to calculate the estimated effort for a project.

Related Research Articles

A software metric is a standard of measure of a degree to which a software system or process possesses some property. Even if a metric is not a measurement, often the two terms are used as synonyms. Since quantitative measurements are essential in all sciences, there is a continuous effort by computer science practitioners and theoreticians to bring similar approaches to software development. The goal is obtaining objective, reproducible and quantifiable measurements, which may have numerous valuable applications in schedule and budget planning, cost estimation, quality assurance, testing, software debugging, software performance optimization, and optimal personnel task assignments.

Barry Boehm American software engineer

Barry W. Boehm is an American software engineer, distinguished professor of computer science, industrial and systems engineering; the TRW Professor of Software Engineering; and founding director of the Center for Systems and Software Engineering at the University of Southern California. He is known for his many contributions to the area of software engineering.

In the context of software engineering, software quality refers to two related but distinct notions:

Cost estimation in software engineering is typically concerned with the financial spend on the effort to develop and test the software, this can also include training, managing and buying extra equipment, servers and software. Many methods have been developed for estimating software costs for a given project.

The Constructive Systems Engineering Cost Model (COSYSMO) was created by Ricardo Valerdi while at the University of Southern California Center for Software Engineering. It gives an estimate of the number of person-months it will take to staff systems engineering resources on hardware and software projects. Initially developed in 2002, the model now contains a calibration data set of more than 50 projects provided by major aerospace and defense companies such as Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, SAIC, General Dynamics, and BAE Systems.

SEER for Software (SEER-SEM) is an algorithmic project management software application designed specifically to estimate, plan and monitor the effort and resources required for any type of software development and/or maintenance project. SEER, which comes from the noun, referring to one having the ability to foresee the future, relies on parametric algorithms, knowledge bases, simulation-based probability, and historical precedents to allow project managers, engineers, and cost analysts to accurately estimate a project's cost schedule, risk and effort before the project is started.

The Putnam model is an empirical software effort estimation model. The original paper by Lawrence H. Putnam published in 1978 is seen as pioneering work in the field of software process modelling. As a group, empirical models work by collecting software project data and fitting a curve to the data. Future effort estimates are made by providing size and calculating the associated effort using the equation which fit the original data.

Software sizing/ Software Size Estimation is an activity in software engineering that is used to determine or estimate the size of a software application or component in order to be able to implement other software project management activities. Size is an inherent characteristic of a piece of software just like weight is an inherent characteristic of a tangible material.

Programming productivity describes the degree of the ability of individual programmers or development teams to build and evolve software systems. Productivity traditionally refers to the ratio between the quantity of software produced and the cost spent for it. Here the delicacy lies in finding a reasonable way to define software quantity.

A parametric model is a set of related mathematical equations that incorporates variable parameters. A scenario is defined by selecting a value for each parameter. Software project managers use software parametric models and parametric estimation tools to estimate their projects' duration, staffing and cost.

In project management, accurate estimates are the basis of sound project planning. Many processes have been developed to aid engineers in making accurate estimates, such as

Weighted Micro Function Points (WMFP) is a modern software sizing algorithm invented by Logical Solutions in 2009 which is a successor to solid ancestor scientific methods as COCOMO, COSYSMO, maintainability index, cyclomatic complexity, function points, and Halstead complexity. It produces more accurate results than traditional software sizing methodologies, while requiring less configuration and knowledge from the end user, as most of the estimation is based on automatic measurements of an existing source code.

AFCAA REVIC is a set of programs for use in estimating the cost of software development projects. The Revised Enhanced Version of Intermediate COCOMO (REVIC) model is a copyrighted program available for public distribution under agreement with the REVIC developer, Ray Kile, and the U.S. Air Force Cost Analysis Agency (AFCAA). It is distributed by the U.S. Navy Engineering Process Office (EPO).

Unified Code Count (UCC)

The Unified Code Counter (UCC) is a comprehensive software lines of code counter produced by the USC Center for Systems and Software Engineering. It is available to the general public as open source code and can be compiled with any standard ANSI C++ compiler.

SNAP is the acronym for “Software Non-functional Assessment Process,” a measurement of non-functional software size. SNAP point sizing is a complement to a function point sizing, which measures functional software size. SNAP is a product of the International Function Point Users Group (IFPUG), and is sized using the Software Non-functional Assessment Practices Manual, (APM) now in version 2.2.

References

  1. ↑ "Software Measurement, Cost Estimation, SLIM, COCOMO" . Retrieved 22 Aug 2016.
  2. ↑ "The Comparison of the Software Cost Estimating Methods" . Retrieved 22 Aug 2016.
  3. ↑ "Software Measurement Page, COCOMO II, object points" . Retrieved 22 Aug 2016.
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