AFP — Implementations of the proposed model will need to demonstrate “consistent” counts

2. Implementations of the proposed model will need to demonstrate “consistent” counts for the same solution developed in different languages, as well as the same software solution written in the same language but authored by different persons. Statistical data published in CrossTalk has shown the same product to be as large as 22 times larger depending on the author, not the language. 1 Manual function point counting overcomes these differences because source code is never the basis of the count.
Recommendation: Using an objective independent organization, conduct such analyses and publish as it becomes available

Feasibility comparisons of automated Function Points with manual counts were conducted in a large telecommunications company prior to developing the AFP spec, and the comparison was good provided application boundaries were well-efined and all source code was available.
The vendor in the feasibility study whose technology was able to parse multiple languages and then reintegrate the metadata to create an abstract representation of the entire application demonstrated the capability to avoid the problems described with multi-language applications.
The recommendation to have an independent organization ‘validate’ the consistency of the AFP spec with manual counts will be considered after the spec has been implemented, entered use, and is producing the data needed for consistency checks.
Revised Text:
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Disposition: Closed, no change