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Article
A New Calibration for Function Point Complexity Weights
Information and Software Technology
  • Wei Xia, HSBC Bank
  • Luiz Fernando Capretz, University of Western Ontario
  • Danny Ho, NFA-Estimation Inc.
  • Faheem Ahmed, Thompson River University
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-1-2008
URL with Digital Object Identifier
10.1016/j.infsof.2007.07.004
Abstract

Function Point (FP) is a useful software metric that was first proposed twenty-five years ago, since then, it has steadily evolved into a functional size metric consolidated in the well-accepted Standardized International Function Point Users Group (IFPUG) Counting Practices Manual - version 4.2. While software development industry has grown rapidly, the weight values assigned to count standard FP still remain same, which raise critical questions about the validity of the weight values. In this paper, we discuss the concepts of calibrating Function Point, whose aims are to estimate a more accurate software size that fits for specific software application, to reflect software industry trend, and to improve the cost estimation of software projects. A FP calibration model called Neuro-Fuzzy Function Point Calibration Model (NFFPCM) that integrates the learning ability from neural network and the ability to capture human knowledge from fuzzy logic is proposed. The empirical validation using International Software Benchmarking Standards Group (ISBSG) data repository release 8 shows a 22% accuracy improvement of mean MRE in software effort estimation after calibration.

Citation Information
@article{DBLP:journals/infsof/XiaCHA08, author = {Wei Xia and Luiz Fernando Capretz and Danny Ho and Faheem Ahmed}, title = {A new calibration for Function Point complexity weights}, journal = {Information {\&} Software Technology}, volume = {50}, number = {7-8}, year = {2008}, pages = {670-683}, ee = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.infsof.2007.07.004}, bibsource = {DBLP, http://dblp.uni-trier.de} }