Function points analysis: an empirical study of its measurement processes

Abstract

Function point analysis (FPA) was initially designed on the basis of expert judgments, without explicit reference to any theoretical foundation. From the point of view of the measurement scales used in its measurement process, FPA constitutes a potpourri of scales not admissible without the transformations imbedded in the implicit models of expert judgments. The results of this empirical study demonstrate that in a homogeneous environment not burdened with major differences in productivity factors there is a clear relationship between FPA's primary components and work-effort. This empirical study also indicates that there is such a relationship for each step of the FPA measurement process prior to the mixing of scales and the assignments of weights. Comparisons with FPA productivity models based on weights confirm, on the one hand, that the weights do not add information and, on the other, that the weights are fairly robust and can be used when little historical data is available. The full data set is provided for future studies.