The Future of Function Points: Process Certification

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What will be the Future of the Function Points? For me a answer will the Process Certification.

That question is propossed from Metric Views, the magazine managed by IFPUG. The Theme of the issue is “The Future of Function Points”, with an introduction by Editor Paul Radford, with follow-on feature articles by a number of IFPUG contributors.

You can check my contribution below and the rest of the articles here: Metric Views July/August 2013.

P.S.: My name is hard to find because the transformation. Enjoy the quest!

From a recent report from David Consulting Group (DCG), the Function Point method is used mainly for:

• Estimating development projects
• Internal Performance Measurement
• Planning
• Budgeting
• Estimating Maintenance
• Outsourcing Contract Management

All organizations know how-to measure, know the method but what about the process? The procedures? The assets?

Actually, IFPUG offers three types of certification:

• Certified Function Point Practitioner (CFPP)/Certified Function Point Specialist (CFPS)
• Training Materials Certification
• Software Certification

IFPUG grants certifications to individuals who demonstrate proficiency in both knowledge and application of the IFPUG counting rules according to the IFPUG Counting Practices Manual (CPM).

IFPUG grants certifications to Software that meets the definitions, the rules and the steps of the method.

But what about the process?

Many organizations (for example: CMMI® Capability Maturity Model® Integration), offers models which are collections of best practices that help organizations to improve their processes.

The next step for Function Point community may develop a new model for help companies to implement Function Points methodology.

This new model should provide a comprehensive integrated set of guidelines for establish a process driving the Function Points methodology to achieve the objectives of the companies: estimation, planification , third-party control & comparison, audit, etc.

Many companies (customers and suppliers) need to ensure a consistent benchmark as a basis for process improvement that is appropriate to their developed product and is based on a proven approach. The benchmarking scope should be the productivity factor and the Measurement Process too.

Ensuring the people and the process we can trust in the measurements and better we can Know.

What about changing the supplier, the provider?

If I can establish a standard method, every company can learn it and can improve his skills. When a customer need to choose a supplier have more options to do the right election because the process is similar for all.

Is needed a homogenization to improve the quality and performance.

Like the famous Pressman phrase said:

If we do not measure, there no real way of determining whether we are improving. And if we are not improving , we are lost.