NESMA Impacted Enhancement Function Points

The Netherlands Software Metrics Association (NESMA) has published guidelines on counting enhancement projects that supplement the IFPUG guidelines. Full details of the NESMA Method can be found in FUNCTION POINT ANALYSIS FOR SOFTWARE ENHANCEMENT GUIDELINES Version 2.2.1. The NESMA Method considers the application of FPA to software enhancement from the perspective of the standard function point analysis method. The result of this work, embodied in these guidelines, is a method applicable to software enhancement and testing that is strongly related to the standard FPA method. The term Enhancement Function Point Analysis (EFPA) is used to differentiate the method from the standard function point analysis method.

SCOPE enables you to report your Enhancement Function Point Counts using the NESMA method. Assign the Add, Change, Delete Enhancement Types to the Transactions and Data Groups in your functional model as you would normally for an IFPUG function point count. But in addition set up the "NESMA Enhancement Impact Factor " Numerical Attribute category and follow instructions below for assigning the relevant impact factors and reporting the results in NESMA Function Points.

• 'cut and paste' the branch
• under Options - set up a standard Numerical Attribute Template which can be reused for all your counts and will become part of the standard available template set.

Assigning NESMA Impact Factors

1. Select the Count Session you want to report. If you want to report for the whole Release and all its count Sessions. Select "No Session" in the Count Session drop down list at the bottom of the screen. Click the Calculate FP Size online reporting to "Release Reworked"
2. Position your cursor at the top of the Attribute Tree on the LHS screen. Right click and select "Insert Template Category". From the Select Template drop down list select "NESMA Enhancement Impact Factor"
3. SCOPE will load this Numerical Attribute Category with a list of Attributes representing each type of Impact on Transactions and Data (Add, Change, Delete) and the Impact Value= 0.25 to 1.50 for that Type of Function and Type of Impact. E.g. Added Transactions - Value =1.0, Deleted Transactions - Value = 0.4 NESMA Impact Factor)
4. Position your cursor at the top of the Function Tree on the RHS screen. Right click and select "Flag" - "Session Impacted" to highlight ( flag) all processes that are impacted by this Release for all Counts.
5. Link the relevant NESMA Impact Factor Attribute to each impacted process. I.e. link the Deleted Attribute to all processes that have been deleted by the Enhancement Requirements. Continue until all processes and data impacted for the Release have a link to an Enhancement Factor.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the Data Tree.
7. SCOPE will multiply the function points for the Processes and the Data by Enhancement Impact Factor to calculate an report the NESMA Impacted Function Points for each type of Impact.
8. Locate your cursor on the top of the Function Tree/Data Tree to View the calculated NESMA Impacted FPs for both Processes and Data separately on the screen or run the Numerical Attribute - FP Size Report (Select - then Attribute FP Size Profiles) to combine both transaction and data results.
9. Example report below : Check the report has "100%" linked FPs (circled value below). This is indicating that 100% of all the impacted process and data groups have had a NESMA impact factor assigned to them. The linked processes and data groups have 89 IFPUG function points attributed to them and 75 NESMA Impact function points.