Function Point Analysis

Function Point Analysis (FPA) is a technique for measuring software development projects, aiming to establish a measure of size, in Function Points (FP), considering the implemented functionality, from the user's point of view. The measurement is independent of the programming language or technology that will be used for implementation.

In this context, the objectives of the FPA are:

• to measure the functionality requested by the user, before the software project, in order to estimate its size and cost;
• to measure software development and maintenance projects, regardless of the technology used in the implementation, in order to monitor their evolution;
• to measure the functionality received by the user, after the software project, in order to verify its size and cost, comparing them with what was originally estimated;

Organizations can apply Function Point Analysis as:

• a tool to determine the size of acquired software packages, by counting all Function Points included in the package;
• a tool to support the analysis of quality and productivity;
• a mechanism for estimating costs and resources involved in software development and maintenance projects;
• a normalization factor for software comparison.