Getting Started with SCOPE

1. Select to <New> under <File> and enter the File Name of your new SCOPE database, eg. Mydatabase.fpa.

2. From the Application List displayed select to Add the application to be counted (eg. Customer Information System). Once created, highlight the Application name, expand [+] and highlight the Work in Progress Release branch.

3. Select to Add a new Release of your software eg. Name it “Release 1.0 of Customer Information System”.

4. Select to Add a function point count session for this Release by highlighting the name of the Release and selecting Add. Give your Count Session a Name eg. “Initial Count for Project Scoping”. You can link your Count to a Project and record background details about the count. When you select OK you see your new Count Session listed (calliper icon) ready for you to highlight and Open.

5. Open the Count Session and your cursor will be positioned on the Function Tree. Create a functional breakdown of your software by first adding Functional Branches (Functions) using Alt+Ins or selecting from the Node Tool button on the top menu. Then at the lowest level Function insert the Elementary Processes you want to add by pressing (Ins) or right clicking to display insert menu.

6. After you create a functional group, use F2 or double-click to rename it from the default name of “Function” (eg call it Maintain Customer Details). 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.

7. Highlight the functional group and press the Ins Key to insert elementary processes. You will see they are created with a ‘green’, right facing arrow. Highlight 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. If you want to record it as ‘changed’ for an enhancement project then you can select the ‘changed’ option.

8. Use the right hand details screen to assess the Type and Complexity of each Process.

9. To count your logical data groups (Internal and External Files) select the Data tab on the LHS screen. Highlight the Data Release root node and you can begin entering Data Groups by pressing pressing Alt+Ins keys. Highlight the Data Group, and in the Details screen in the opposite window, determine the Data Group Type using User Select - Data Group Type, then select the complexity. Complexity defaults to Low, to select the number of RETs and DETs select Range then the appropriate position on the matrix.

10. If you want to link your processes to the Data Groups they access. Select the Function Tab on the bottom LHS of the screen and the Data Tab on the bottom RHS of the screen. Highlight the process you want to link, then ‘click’ in the box next to the Data Group name. Your can also create Notes for your processes and files by selecting the Notes tab, creating a Note under a Note Set and linking. Attributes can also be assigned using the Attribute Tab.

11. The function point count will automatically calculate from any position in the Function tree and displays in the status bar. The count will change depending on the position of the cursor on the function tree.

12. To see the detailed report, select Report Selection under File on the main menu. Expand [+] the branch that says Function Point Count Results and select the report named Baseline Release 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 read the User Manual downloaded with SCOPE to find all the functionality provided to ensure you get to use all the features in SCOPE.

More Information? Contact SCOPE Support