NEW YORK, February 19, 2013 – CAST, a world leader in software analysis and measurement, today announced support for the Object Management Group (OMG) Automated Function Point (AFP) Standard which provides a standard for automating function point measurement as an output of software development.
Over the past 30 years, function points have proven the only effective way to measure application development productivity, but to date their manual, fastidious nature prevents the method from being effective for ongoing productivity measurement on a larger scale. The OMG standard signifies a game changing event that will propel function point counting from a cottage industry to a standard analytical practice.
“The new OMG Automated Function Point (AFP) specification, delivered last month by the joint OMG-SEI Consortium for IT Software Quality (CISQ), was carefully crafted to support existing IFPUG counting guidelines while reducing the subjectivity that characterized manual counts. Our mission was to automate the IFPUG manual process, reducing the cost of function point counting to near zero and ensuring consistent, reliable, and usable counts,” said Dr. Richard Soley, OMG Chairman.
“Although IFPUG and COSMIC are the de facto standards for counting applications based on specifications, the OMG standard is becoming the obvious choice for ADM productivity measurement initiatives. We view this as a transformational capability that enables wide scale adoption of function points for sizing applications to be embedded in all ADM outsourcing contracts and software productivity initiatives,” said David Herron of the David Consulting Group.
The OMG specification provides detailed guidance on the design and deployment of an automated function point sizing system for transaction-oriented applications. Adopting this standard, CAST AIP replicates the IFPUG process by detecting data and transaction functions, and distinguishing internal and external logical files to calculate real function points. This is unlike other tools that approximate functional size from lines of code by “backfiring.” More interesting, due to the level of automation, CAST AIP can see how many function points were added, enhanced and deleted for a holistic measure of output from software development activity.
“By providing a low cost, standard method of counting function points, CAST removes the obstacles that have long prevented function points from broad adoption. Global 2000 executives now have access to meaningful insight into the performance and productivity of in-house and offshore ADM investments,” said Lev Lesokhin, EVP, Strategy and Market Development
CAST is a pioneer and world leader in Software Analysis and Measurement, with unique technology resulting from more than $100 million in R&D investment. CAST introduces fact-based transparency into application development and sourcing to transform it into a management discipline. More than 250 companies across all industry sectors and geographies rely on CAST to prevent business disruption while reducing hard IT costs. CAST is an integral part of software delivery and maintenance at the world's leading IT service providers.
Founded in 1990, CAST is listed on NYSE-Euronext (Euronext: CAS) and serves IT intensive enterprises worldwide with a network of offices in North America, Europe and India. For more information about CAST:
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Email: communications@castsoftware.com
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