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    This site is dedicated to providing you with all the necessary information to assist you in using software metrics in your software project management.    
   


What is Software Metrics?

Software Metrics is result from the measurement of the development, operation and maintenance of software in order to supply meaningful and timely management information. Some measurement methods focus on the sizing of the process (person month) while others on the software product and quantify aspects such as size (lines of code), quality (defect count), complexity, reuse, etc. Most of these methods are quite narrow in their focus as the metrics collected do not easily translate to other areas of software development and software product.

We are focusing on Functional Size Measurement (FSM), which measures software by quantifying the functional user requirements that the software delivers. It does this by looking at the software from the user's perspective and calculating the amount of functionality to be delivered. FSM's advantage is that it's metric may be applied to both the software process as well as the software product. 

The most commonly used functional sizing technique is the IFPUG Function Point Analysis technique that has a ‘Function Point’ as its unit. The IFPUG technique is based on a method developed in the USA by Alan Albrecht from IBM in the late 1970s.

There are many other methodologies such as COSMIC FFP. The COSMIC group consists of an international team of software metrics experts that has been working to establish the principles of the new software measurement method, which will draw on the best features of existing IFPUG FPA, MkII, NESMA and FFP V.1 methods.

NEW Online Function Point Analysis Counter

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Have a look at our Software Metrics Glossary

Our new article, Benefits of Software Metrics

 

 

 
       
    Complete list of glossary terms