Size Data - M&S - Applications

Recording Application M and S Metrics

You can record metrics data either :

• into SCOPE as described below
• into the EXCEL Metrics Template for import into SCOPE.

Application Size - An objective measure of the size of the software maintained and supported. Evidence shows that there is a strong correlation between the effort hours spent on Maintenance and Support and the functional size of the application being supported. This correlation is much weaker for Lines of Code (KSLOC).

Functional Size

• Functional Size: This measure is derived by quantifying the Functional User Requirements (i.e. what functions the software must support). This excludes Quality and Technical Requirements i.e. it is the unadjusted size. Units of functional size are Function Points. SCOPE displays a reference list of Baseline sizes that can be optionally recorded in the Application Baseline Releases to allow you to insert the size relevant to the Benchmarking Period for which the Application is currently being assessed. You do not have had to record your function point counts in SCOPE in order to insert the Functional size value in the M&S data for the Application.

Hint: Open SCOPE EXAMPLE DATABASE which is installed with SCOPE for an example of an Application and its Releases and Projects where size has been entered manually. (FLY Application)

• Functional Size Method Used - There are currently 5 Functional Size Measurement Methods for measuring functional size. Functional Size measured using SCOPE software is in IFPUG Function points.

• Functional Size Approach - this is an indicator of the accuracy of the size

Technical Size

Technical size is a measure of the source code that runs the application. This is a measure of Logical Lines of Code. Units of technical size are thousands of lines of code. Code instructions are defined as: All program instructions created by project personnel and processed into machine code by some combination of pre-processors, compilers and assemblers. It excludes comment and unmodified utility software. It includes Job control statements, format statements and data declarations (see Software Engineering Economics, Barry Boehm).

KSLOC - unit of measure of one thousand logical lines of code. e.g. 5000 lines of source code = 5 KSLOC