Function Point Analysis Methodology 3-day (FP-101)

Course Duration: 3 days

Course Objective:

The workshop is designed to reinforce the concepts and practices introduced to the participants of the Basic Function Point Course through practical counting experience. Materials presented may include actual projects and/or applications from the organization’s own portfolio. By the end of the class, participants will have a working knowledge of the IFPUG rules (CPM 4.3.1) methodology and will have some experience applying rules to their own projects.

Course Description:

Includes IFPUG-certified FPA training with numerous hand-on case studies and examples. We use teaching materials from the International Software Benchmarking Standards Group (ISBSG) and each participant will receive a copy of the ISBSG workbook together with SPR course materials. In addition, we include a module on Using FP for Estimation and Project Management.

At your option (if sufficient time and documentation is provided in advance) the instructor will use application and project examples from your organization’s portfolio as the basis for case studies.

Target Audience:

This course is designed for the Function Point novice. Students without any experience in function point counting will obtain a basic introduction to the IFPUG FPA rules from the latest Counting Practices Manual (CPM 4.3.1) and will understand how to apply the rules appropriately to derive function point size.

Course Outline:

1. Introduction to FPA
   • Types of Counts
   • User View
   • Counting Scope and Application Boundary
   • Identifying and counting Logical Files
   • Identifying and counting Elementary Processes
   • Calculating the unadjusted FP size
   • The Value Adjustment Factor
   • Calculating the adjusted FP size
2. The IFPUG Counting Practices Manual (CPM) 4.3.1
3. Illustrative Case Studies (new development and enhancement projects)
4. Validating Function Point counts
5. Approximating size
6. Use of counting tools
7. Using Function Points for software management
   • Parametric modeling best practices
   • How to use the results of a FPA
   • Using FPA for effort estimation

For 30 days following the workshop, the instructor will answer questions via email from participants. If further mentoring and support is required, SPR offers a complete “help desk” solution with discounted pricing for previous customers.

Course Policy:

Because this is a hands-on workshop and requires significant interaction between the instructor and participants, it is only offered in person (at the SPR USA site or at your corporate site.) Strictly limited to no more than 20 participants.