COSMIC FFP – for sizing business and real-time software
IWSM 2002 Half-day Tutorial
Charles Symons, Software Measurement Services Ltd. London, UK
Compared with other achievements in software engineering, methods for sizing software both for estimating development effort and as a component of performance measurement are a primitive backwater. The Function Point method of sizing software based on requirements was developed by Allan Albrecht of IBM around 25 years ago, and the subject has made little progress since that time.
In November 1998, a group of software measurement experts formed the COmmon Software Measurement International Consortium (COSMIC). A year later they published the principles of the ‘COSMIC FFP V2’ method and field trials were carried out in several major organisations around the world. The method is now well-established and is close to achieving the status of an International Standard.
This Tutorial will trace the development of functional size measurement methods and will introduce the aims of the COSMIC project and the principles of the new method. Some case study material and results from practical use of the method will also be presented.
About the Author:
Charles Symons has over 40 years experience in the use of computers for business and scientific purposes, in both public and private sectors, in all the major disciplines of the Information Systems function.
His consulting expertise is in improving business performance with Information Technology, and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the IS function, including the organisation and (out) sourcing of the IS function.
He now works with Software Measurement Services Ltd, the largest consultancy in Europe specialising in measuring and assessing performance in software development and in using those measurements for performance improvement, estimating, etc. He has pioneered the development of methods in this field having developed the MkII FP software sizing method. He is now the joint leader of the global COSMIC project.