Step by Step - your First Function Point Count

Setting up your First Function Point Count in SCOPE

To download and print these instructions click here.

• You can put your first count in the Example Database (Select <Example Database> under <File> ) or create a new empty database (Select to <New> under <File> and enter the File Name of your new SCOPE database, e.g. MySCOPEdatabase.fpa )
• From the Application List displayed select to add a new Application and type in the Application name of your count (e.g. Customer Information System). Once created, highlight the Application name, expand [+] and highlight the Work in Progress Release branch.
• Counts are recorded under Releases for an Application. Select to add a new Release of the software application and nameit. e.g. “Release 1.0 of Customer Information System”.
• A new count session called "Change Request" is inserted automatically. This is where your count information will be stored. Each release can have many count sessions.
• Highlight the Release and select to set up a new function point count session for this Release.To change details press F2 or select . Change the status of the count to "In Progress". You can rename the new Count Session e.g. “Initial Count for Project Scoping”. Record background details about the count
• If the Change Request for which you are doing the count belongs to a Project. Then select the Project List tab at the top of the screen. Add the new project, highlight it and select to link the Count Session to the Project. When you select OK you see your new Count Session listed () ready for you to highlight and Open. NOTE: If you do only want to record the Count Size Result for Benchmark Metrics then just record the size manually on the Count Details or Project Details screens.
• Double click to open the Count Session. The Function Point Counting Screens will display and your cursor will be positioned on the Function Tree. Create a functional breakdown of your software by first adding Functional Groups (Function Folders) using [Alt+Ins] or selecting from the Node button on the top tool menu.
• At the lowest level Function Folder insert the Elementary Processes/Transactions you want to add by pressing [Ins] or right clicking to display insert menu. NOTE: The Function Groups, allow you to logically hierarchically group your processes, just like MS Explorer uses a directory structure to enable you to group your files.
• After you create a functional group, use F2 or double-click to rename it from the default name of “Function Folder” (e.g. call it Maintain Customer Details).
• New elementary processes are created with a ‘green’, right facing arrow. Double click the Process and the Details screen displays in the right hand side screen. The direction of the arrow indicates the process has defaulted to being an INPUT. If you change the Process Type to OUTPUT you will see the arrow reverse. Green indicates that it is a new process to the application. You will see the radio button in the status bar at the bottom of the screen indicate it as an Added function for Enhancement Type. If you want to record it as ‘changed’ for an enhancement project then you can select the ‘Changed’ radio button and the arrow will change to orange.
• Use the right hand details screen to assess the Type and Complexity of each Elementary Process.
• To count your logical data groups (Internal and External Files) select the Data tab at the top of the LHS screen. Highlight the Data Release root node and you can begin by entering a Data Folder. Data Folders allow you to 'Group' your Logical Data.
• Insert the Logical Data Groups [Alt+Ins]. Highlight the Data Group, and in the Details screen in the opposite window, determine the Data Group Type (ILF or EIF) using [User Select] - Data Group Type, then select the complexity. Complexity defaults to Low, to select the range of RETs and DETs select Range then the appropriate position on the matrix or you can enter the number of RETs and DETS.
• If you want to list the actual RETs and DETS right click on the Data Group and select to insert.
• If you want to link your processes to the Data Groups they access. Select the [Function] Tree Tab on the top LHS of the screen and the Data Tab on the top RHS of the screen. Highlight the Process you want to link, then ‘click’ in the box next to the Data Group name. You can also create [Notes] for your Processes and Data Groups by selecting the [Notes] tab, creating a Note under a Note SET and linking. Attributes (similar to Key words) can also be assigned using the [Attribute] Tab.
• The function point count will automatically calculate from any position in the Function tree and displays in the status bar at the bottom of the screen. The value displayed will change depending on the position of the cursor on the function tree.
• To see the detailed report, select Report Icon on the main menu. Expand [+] the branch that says Function Point Count Results and select the report named Count Session Impacted Functional Size - Detail. Select to Preview the report and it will display online.
• The above instructions provide the basic guidelines for creating a basic Project Development Count or Enhancement count. Record your Adds, Changes and Deletes for your Change Requests using the Impact options in the status bar in a Count Session. Baseline counts can be created from Project counts by selecting the Update to Baseline button in the Applications List. SCOPE has many more features that allow you to profile your count and track functional creep across project life cycles. Please view the Online Tutorials and HELP within SCOPE to understand all the features in SCOPE.