Can COCOMO® (the most widely used cost estimation model in the world), Function Point Analysis (FP) and Software Non-functional Assessment Process (SNAP) be a comprehensive approach to early software development effort estimation, considering all aspects of the software project? What happens to COCOMO® estimation when functional and non-functional size is added to the model?
Recent analysis of 231 project records, each sized with both FP and SNAP Points (SP) counts, explored the feasibility of this approach. FP and SP sizes are combined to produce an equivalent size measure that could be used directly in the COCOMO® III software cost estimation model and produce a sound correlation with work effort.
COCOMO® has traditionally used estimated source lines of code (in thousand count increments) as its size input but it would be very beneficial if an early size measure such as FP and SP were possible. This presentation discusses the analysis results and its implications when using COCOMO® III model together with functional and non-functional sizes.