Use Case Points Research Articles

A mathematical reusability model for quantifying the reduction in development effort

Software Effort and Cost Estimation is a very important activity that includes very uncertain elements. In the context of object-oriented software, traditional methods and metrics were extended to help managing this activity. Use Case Points (UCP) is a very well known metrics used for estimation of object-oriented systems. Use case models are used in Object-Oriented Analysis for capturing and describing the Functional-Requirements of a system. Several methods for estimating software development effort are based on attributes of a use case model. In this paper, we propose a mathematical model based on vectors to measure reusability of software design in terms of reusability of the use cases. Increasing reusability of the use case model would lead to decrease in development effort. Using the vector model, we propose an approach to measure Complexity Reduction Factor (CRF) which measures percentage decrease in effort and hence in cost with increasing reusability. This quantitative analysis of effort reduction with increased reusability would enable us in designing reusable and cost effective software much earlier in software development life cycle, right at the requirement engineering phase. We have used requirements of an Insurance system as a case study to illustrate our approach.

An approach to estimating work effort for enterprise systems software projects

A major factor in the decision to develop enterprise software applications is the size of the project, which determines the amount of work necessary, which in turn will give decision makers some idea about the time required and the estimated cost. Two of the major approaches for such estimation—the Use Case Points (UCP) and COSMIC-FFP methods – are compared in this paper. The accuracy and reliability of each method are evaluated through the measurement of 50 use case studies. These were collected from the Customer Relationship Management systems development project of a major enterprise service institution. The results show that the UCP method is more accurate and reliable than the COSMIC-FFP in determining work effort.

성장곡선을 이용한 소프트웨어 비용 추정 모델

정확한 소프트웨어 비용 추정은 개발자와 고객 모두에게 중요하다. 대부분의 비움 추정 모델들은 규모 추정으로부터 틴은 라인 수와 기능점수와 같을 규모 측도에 기반을 두고 있다. 규모 추정의 정확도는 비용 추정 정확도에 직접적으로 영향을 미친다. 이에 따라 대부분의 회귀기반 비용추정 모델들은 규모에 기반한 멱함수 형태를 적용하고 있다. 생물의 성장, 기술의 발전과 인간의 학습 능력 등 많은 성장 현상들은 S자 곡선을 따른다. 본 논문은 성장곡선을 이용하여 개발노력을 추정하는 모델을 제시하였다. 제시된 모델은 소프트웨어 규모가 증가함에 따라 소요되는 개발 비용이 성장곡선을 따른다고 가정한다. 일반적인 소프트웨어 규모 추정 기법인 기능점수, 완전기능점수와 유스케이스 점수에 기반하여 성장곡선 모델의 적합성을 검증하였다. 제안된 성장곡선 모델들은 멱함수 모델과 비교 시 상호 견줄만한 성능을 보여 소프트웨어 비용 추정분야에 석용 가능함을 보였다. Accurate software cost estimation is essential to both developers and customers. Most of the cost estimating models based on the size measure methods, such as LOC and FP, are obtained through size estimation. The accuracy of size estimation directly influences the accuracy of cost estimation. As a result, the overall structure of regression-based cost models applies the power function based on software size. Many growth phenomenon in nature such as the growth in living organism, performance of technology, and learning capability of human show an S-shaped curve. This paper proposes a model which estimates the developing effort by using the growth curve. The presented model assumes that the relation cost and size follows the growth curve. The appropriateness of the growth curve model based on Function Point, Full-Function Point and Use-Case Point, which are the general methods in estimating the software size have been confirmed. The proposed growth curve model shows similar performance with power function model. In conclusion, the growth curve model can be applied in the estimation of the software cost.

소프트웨어 개발 비용을 추정하기 위한 사용사례 점수 기반 모델

In the software development project applying object-oriented development methodology, the research on the UCP(Use Case Point) as a method to estimate development effort is being carried on. The existing research proposes the linear model calculating the development effort that multiplies an invariant on AUCP(Adjusted Use Case Point) which applied technical and environmental factors. However, the statistical model that estimates the development effort using AUCP and UUCP(Unadjusted Use Case Point) is not being studied. The irrelevant relationship of the linear regression model, whose development period is increasing tremendously as the software size increases, is confirmed. Moreover, during the UCP calculating process, there can be errors in FP by applying the TCF(Technical Complexity Factor) and EF(Environmental Factor). This paper presents a non-linear regression model, that does not consider the TCF and EF, and that estimate the development effort from UUCP directly by utilizing the exponential function. An exponential function is selected among the linear, logarithm, polynomial, power, and exponential model via statistical evaluations of the models mentioned above.