CAST, the leader in software analysis and measurement, unveils cuttingedge capabilities in automated function point counting .
REMOVING THE OBSTACLES TO ACCURATE SIZING
While function points are the de facto industry standard for measuring the amount of functionality contained in a software application, they are timeconsuming to measure, rely on detailed and uptodate documentation and require function point specialists. CAST's automated function point counting capabilities enable companies to avoid these problems. CAST's function point counts are fast, objective, repeatable, tamperproof, cost effective and benchmarkable.
As software measurement expert Capers Jones puts it, "Function points match standard economic definitions for productivity analysis, 'Goods or services produced per unit of labor or expense.'" CAST makes this venerable industry standard for software output readily accessible. IT organizations can now accurately measure their productivity and benchmark their software factories with minimal fuss. CIOs will now have the data they need to make more informed critical resource allocation decisions and be able to speak much more credibly about IT to their CFO, CEO and Board.
INTENSE R&D EFFORT, UNIQUE SIZING CAPABILITIES
The result of three years of intensive R&D and field testing, CAST's sophisticated algorithms for counting function points closely replicate the IFPUG 4.2 manual standard. Automation makes CAST-Computed Function Point counts objective, repeatable, tamperproof, cost effective and benchmarkable.
"Our existing customers can't wait to start using these new capabilities," said Rémi Jacquet, VP of CAST operations in France. Our telecom, insurance and investment banking customers can immediately begin to measure productivity and manage their applications even more effectively. Our partners, TieFree, Semantys and Compass Management Consulting are also eager to tap into the increased power of CAST. Our new sizing capabilities are shaping up to be a great success."
"Automating function point counts, especially across the variety of technologies employed by typical IT departments, is no easy task," said Olivier Bonsignour, VP of product development at CAST. "Function points measure functionality from the enduser's perspective. This is not a matter of simply analyzing code - an automated solution must analyze calls from the UI to recreate the user experience all the way to the data layer from the source code. Doing so depends on CAST's unique ability to take the entire application into account - from the user interface all the way down to the structure of the database."
Indeed, CAST's capabilities are unique in this regard. As Michael Azoff, principal analyst at Ovum says, "CAST is one of a few companies operating in the space of software analysis and measurement, an emergent practice that goes beyond static complexity analysis into architectural context and understanding."
"In the last year, we've added three new function point capabilities to the CAST Application Intelligence Platform," said Vincent Delaroche, chairman and CEO of CAST. "First, we've substantially increased the sophistication of our counting algorithm to count microfunction points - function point changes that are too small to be counted manually but represent a big proportion of IT effort. Second, we are able to count enhancement function points - changes in the size of a project as it goes through a series of enhancements to meet business needs. And most importantly, we've field tested our counting accuracy in realworld engagements working alongside worldrenowned function point experts. As a result, we have some very impressed customers."
FIELD-TESTED ACCURACY
"Our function point experts have worked closely with CAST developers to calibrate CAST's automated function point counts to the manual counts during several large engagements in the field," said David Herron, author of two seminal books on function points and VP of Knowledge Solution Services at David Consulting Group. "Once calibrated, CAST counts were within a professionally accepted range of accuracy."
CAST's enhanced function points keep track of function points that have been added, modified and deleted as a project changes as a result of enduser requests. With this new capability, IT organizations can use CAST-Computed Function Points to accurately measure software productivity and benchmark their IT organizations with peers.
REMOVING THE OBSTACLES TO ACCURATE SIZING
While function points are the de facto industry standard for measuring the amount of functionality contained in a software application, they are timeconsuming to measure, rely on detailed and uptodate documentation and require function point specialists. CAST's automated function point counting capabilities enable companies to avoid these problems. CAST's function point counts are fast, objective, repeatable, tamperproof, cost effective and benchmarkable.
As software measurement expert Capers Jones puts it, "Function points match standard economic definitions for productivity analysis, 'Goods or services produced per unit of labor or expense.'" CAST makes this venerable industry standard for software output readily accessible. IT organizations can now accurately measure their productivity and benchmark their software factories with minimal fuss. CIOs will now have the data they need to make more informed critical resource allocation decisions and be able to speak much more credibly about IT to their CFO, CEO and Board.
INTENSE R&D EFFORT, UNIQUE SIZING CAPABILITIES
The result of three years of intensive R&D and field testing, CAST's sophisticated algorithms for counting function points closely replicate the IFPUG 4.2 manual standard. Automation makes CAST-Computed Function Point counts objective, repeatable, tamperproof, cost effective and benchmarkable.
"Our existing customers can't wait to start using these new capabilities," said Rémi Jacquet, VP of CAST operations in France. Our telecom, insurance and investment banking customers can immediately begin to measure productivity and manage their applications even more effectively. Our partners, TieFree, Semantys and Compass Management Consulting are also eager to tap into the increased power of CAST. Our new sizing capabilities are shaping up to be a great success."
"Automating function point counts, especially across the variety of technologies employed by typical IT departments, is no easy task," said Olivier Bonsignour, VP of product development at CAST. "Function points measure functionality from the enduser's perspective. This is not a matter of simply analyzing code - an automated solution must analyze calls from the UI to recreate the user experience all the way to the data layer from the source code. Doing so depends on CAST's unique ability to take the entire application into account - from the user interface all the way down to the structure of the database."
Indeed, CAST's capabilities are unique in this regard. As Michael Azoff, principal analyst at Ovum says, "CAST is one of a few companies operating in the space of software analysis and measurement, an emergent practice that goes beyond static complexity analysis into architectural context and understanding."
"In the last year, we've added three new function point capabilities to the CAST Application Intelligence Platform," said Vincent Delaroche, chairman and CEO of CAST. "First, we've substantially increased the sophistication of our counting algorithm to count microfunction points - function point changes that are too small to be counted manually but represent a big proportion of IT effort. Second, we are able to count enhancement function points - changes in the size of a project as it goes through a series of enhancements to meet business needs. And most importantly, we've field tested our counting accuracy in realworld engagements working alongside worldrenowned function point experts. As a result, we have some very impressed customers."
FIELD-TESTED ACCURACY
"Our function point experts have worked closely with CAST developers to calibrate CAST's automated function point counts to the manual counts during several large engagements in the field," said David Herron, author of two seminal books on function points and VP of Knowledge Solution Services at David Consulting Group. "Once calibrated, CAST counts were within a professionally accepted range of accuracy."
CAST's enhanced function points keep track of function points that have been added, modified and deleted as a project changes as a result of enduser requests. With this new capability, IT organizations can use CAST-Computed Function Points to accurately measure software productivity and benchmark their IT organizations with peers.
