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Web Effort Estimation: Function Point Analysis vs. COSMIC.

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Title: Web Effort Estimation: Function Point Analysis vs. COSMIC.
Authors: Di Martino, Sergio1 sergio.dimartino@unina.it, Ferrucci, Filomena2 fferrucci@unisa.it, Gravino, Carmine2 gravino@unisa.it, Sarro, Federica3 f.sarro@ucl.ac.uk
Source: Information & Software Technology. Apr2016, Vol. 72, p90-109. 20p.
Subjects: Function point analysis, Computer software development, Computer software industry, Corporate profits, Big data, Regression analysis, Empirical research
Abstract: Context : software development effort estimation is a crucial management task that critically depends on the adopted size measure. Several Functional Size Measurement (FSM) methods have been proposed. COSMIC is considered a 2nd generation FSM method, to differentiate it from Function Point Analysis (FPA) and its variants, considered as 1st generation ones. In the context of Web applications, few investigations have been performed to compare the effectiveness of the two generations. Software companies could benefit from this analysis to evaluate if it is worth to migrate from a 1st generation method to a 2nd one. Objective : the main goal of the paper is to empirically investigate if COSMIC is more effective than FPA for Web effort estimation. Since software companies using FPA cannot build an estimation model based on COSMIC as long as they do not have enough COSMIC data, the second goal of the paper is to investigate if conversion equations can be exploited to support the migration from FPA to COSMIC. Method : two empirical studies have been carried out by employing an industrial data set. The first one compared the effort prediction accuracy obtained with Function Points (FPs) and COSMIC, using two estimation techniques (Simple Linear Regression and Case-Based Reasoning). The second study assessed the effectiveness of a two-step strategy that first exploits a conversion equation to transform historical FPs data into COSMIC, and then builds a new prediction model based on those estimated COSMIC sizes. Results : the first study revealed that, on our data set, COSMIC was significantly more accurate than FPs in estimating the development effort. The second study revealed that the effectiveness of the analyzed two-step process critically depends on the employed conversion equation. Conclusion : for Web effort estimation COSMIC can be significantly more effective than FPA. Nevertheless, additional research must be conducted to identify suitable conversion equations so that the two-step strategy can be effectively employed for a smooth migration from FPA to COSMIC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Information & Software Technology is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
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DbLabel: Engineering Source
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  Data: Web Effort Estimation: Function Point Analysis vs. COSMIC.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Di+Martino%2C+Sergio%22">Di Martino, Sergio</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> sergio.dimartino@unina.it</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ferrucci%2C+Filomena%22">Ferrucci, Filomena</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo><i> fferrucci@unisa.it</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gravino%2C+Carmine%22">Gravino, Carmine</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo><i> gravino@unisa.it</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sarro%2C+Federica%22">Sarro, Federica</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo><i> f.sarro@ucl.ac.uk</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Information+%26+Software+Technology%22">Information & Software Technology</searchLink>. Apr2016, Vol. 72, p90-109. 20p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Function+point+analysis%22">Function point analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Computer+software+development%22">Computer software development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Computer+software+industry%22">Computer software industry</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Corporate+profits%22">Corporate profits</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Big+data%22">Big data</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Regression+analysis%22">Regression analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Empirical+research%22">Empirical research</searchLink>
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  Data: Context : software development effort estimation is a crucial management task that critically depends on the adopted size measure. Several Functional Size Measurement (FSM) methods have been proposed. COSMIC is considered a 2nd generation FSM method, to differentiate it from Function Point Analysis (FPA) and its variants, considered as 1st generation ones. In the context of Web applications, few investigations have been performed to compare the effectiveness of the two generations. Software companies could benefit from this analysis to evaluate if it is worth to migrate from a 1st generation method to a 2nd one. Objective : the main goal of the paper is to empirically investigate if COSMIC is more effective than FPA for Web effort estimation. Since software companies using FPA cannot build an estimation model based on COSMIC as long as they do not have enough COSMIC data, the second goal of the paper is to investigate if conversion equations can be exploited to support the migration from FPA to COSMIC. Method : two empirical studies have been carried out by employing an industrial data set. The first one compared the effort prediction accuracy obtained with Function Points (FPs) and COSMIC, using two estimation techniques (Simple Linear Regression and Case-Based Reasoning). The second study assessed the effectiveness of a two-step strategy that first exploits a conversion equation to transform historical FPs data into COSMIC, and then builds a new prediction model based on those estimated COSMIC sizes. Results : the first study revealed that, on our data set, COSMIC was significantly more accurate than FPs in estimating the development effort. The second study revealed that the effectiveness of the analyzed two-step process critically depends on the employed conversion equation. Conclusion : for Web effort estimation COSMIC can be significantly more effective than FPA. Nevertheless, additional research must be conducted to identify suitable conversion equations so that the two-step strategy can be effectively employed for a smooth migration from FPA to COSMIC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Label:
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Information & Software Technology is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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      – SubjectFull: Corporate profits
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      – SubjectFull: Big data
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      – SubjectFull: Regression analysis
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      – TitleFull: Web Effort Estimation: Function Point Analysis vs. COSMIC.
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              Text: Apr2016
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