Excel template for function point analysis

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Excel template for function point analysis

This article provides details of Excel template for function point analysis that you can download now.

Microsoft Excel software under a Windows environment is required to use this template

These Excel templates for function point analysis work on all versions of Excel since 2007.

Examples of a ready-to-use spreadsheet: Download this table in Excel (.xls) format, and complete it with your specific information.

To be able to use these models correctly, you must first activate the macros at startup.

The file to download presents three Excel template for function point analysis

Basic template for function point analysis
Function point counting facility template

This Excel Workbook provides a complete function point counting facility. It enables you to:

. identify and count the individual components of an application,

. enter an adjustment factor,

. compute an overall estimate of effort.

instructions

Identify the project or application being counted.
List and analyze each of the components of the application.

Internal Logical Files (ILFs)

External Interface Files (EIFs)

External Inputs (EIs)

External Outputs (EOs)

External Queries (EQs)

Review the Unadjusted Function Point Count.
Calculate the Value Adjustment Factor.
Identify a Calibration Factor.
Identify a Function Point Delivery Rate (in function points per person-month)
Identify a conversion factor (person-months to person-days).
Review the high level estimate of total effort.

Excel template for function point analysis (Defined Functions for FP Counting)

There are two user defined functions that have been created for this free download.

Instructions:

FPR Function Point Rating (FPR) provides the complexity or the low, average and high ratings

FPV Function Point Value (FPV) provides the value of the component.

Both User Defined Functions are easy to use. It is assumed you are familiar with both Excel and Function Points

If you click on Insert, functions and you will see both UDF under the user defined functions

If you click on the column headings (C, D, E, F) in worksheets FPDetail or More FP Detail you will see that the columns have been named TTYPE, DET, FTR, FPRating.

FPR uses data from Columns C, D and E

FPV uses data from Columns C and E

If you click on Column F3 in either FPDetail or More FP Detail you will see how the formula FPR is used

If you click no Column G3 you will see how the formula FPV is used

The calculation for the VAF comes from the GSC tab.

Make sure all rows are included in your sum function!

Function point metrics, developed by

Alan Albercht of IBM, were first published in 1979

In 1984, the International Function

Point Users Group (IFPUG) was set up to clarify the rules, set standards, and promote their use and evolution

Introduction (Cont’d)

Function point metrics provide a standardized method for measuring the various functions of a software application.
Function point metrics, measure functionality from the users point of view, that is, on the basis of what the user requests and receives in return

Introduction (Cont’d)

Albercht’s initial definition:
This gives a dimensionless number defined in function points which we have found to be an effective relative measure of function value delivered to our customer

Objectives of FPA

Function point analysis measures software by quantifying the functionality the software provides to the user based primarily on logical design. With this in mind, the objectives of function point analysis are to:
Measure functionality that the user requests and receives
Measure software development and maintenance independently of technology used for implementation
In addition to meeting the above objectives, the process of counting function points should be:
Simple enough to minimize the overhead of the measurement process
A consistent measure among various projects and organizations

Benefits of FPA

Organizations can apply function point analysis as:
A tool to determine the size of a purchased application package by counting all the functions included in the package
A tool to help users determine the benefit of an application package to their organization by counting functions that specifically match their requirements
A tool to measure the units of a software product to support quality and productivity analysis
A vehicle to estimate cost and resources required for software development and maintenance
A normalization factor for software comparison

FPA Overview

The first step in calculating FP is to identify the counting boundary.
Counting boundary: The border between the application or project being measured and external applications or the user domain.
A boundary establishes which functions are included in the function point count

FPA Components

FPA Overview (Cont’d)

The next step is determining the unadjusted function point (UFP) count
UFP reflects the specific countable functionality provided to the user by the project or application

Calculation of the UFP

This calculation begins with the counting of the five function types of a project or application:
Two data function types
Three transactional function types

Data Function Types

Internal Logical File (ILF): a user identifiable group of logically related data or control information maintained within the boundary of the application
External Interface File (EIF): a user identifiable group of logically related data or control information referenced by the application, but maintained within the boundary of another application.
This means that EIF counted for an application, must be an ILF in another application
Transactional Function Types
External Input (EI): An EI processes data or control information that comes from outside the application’s boundary.
The EI is an elementary process.
Elementary process: The smallest unit of activity that is meaningful to the end user in the business

Transactional Function Types

(Con’d)

External Output (EO): An EO is an elementary process that generates data or control information sent outside the application’s boundary
External Inquiry (EQ): An EQ is an elementary process made up of an input-output combination that results in data retrieval
FPA Overview (Con’d)
These 5 function types are then ranked according to their complexity: Low, Average or High, using a set of prescriptive standards.
Organizations that use FP methods, develop criteria for determining whether a particular entry is Low, Average or High.
Nonetheless, the determination of complexity is somewhat subjective.
FPA Overview (Con’d)
After classifying each of the five function types, the UFP is computed using predefined weights for each function type