Critical Analysis of Traditional Size Estimation Metrics for Object Oriented Programming

Abstract

The accuracy of an estimate is always questionable. Lots of efforts have been put to make an estimate more accurate. In case of a software project, the accuracy of estimate is dependent on the correctness of size estimation. Size is a critical factor in determining cost, schedule, and effort. Poor size estimation may lead to budget overruns and late deliveries, which decreases the confidence of customer and erodes the image of developer. Traditional size estimation methods generally used are source lines-of-code, function point, object points etc. However, traditional size metrics have limitations and are not compatible with newer rapid prototyping and object-oriented approaches of software development. This paper critically analyzes the lacunas of traditional methods and introduces Object oriented metrics for effective size estimation for Object Oriented Software.