Content:
- 1. General Information
A general requirement for the Use Case Point calculator is that Use Cases need to already be completed for the project being calculated. There
are many resources on the internet to complete accurate Use Cases. Consequently, if Use Cases are inaccurate, the Use Case Point Calculation
will also be inaccurate.
There is a tiny tools link on every page that takes you back to the tiny tools page.
Please read the section “UCP” for tips on what to do with the UCP total after calculation.
- 2. UUCW
- The Unadjusted Use Case Weight is broken down into three categories:
- Simple: A simple Use Case contains 1 to 3 transactions and is weighted with 5.
- Average: An average Use Case contains 1 to 3 transactions and is weighted with 10.
- Complex: A complex Use Case contains 1 to 3 transactions and is weighted with 15.
After classifying each Use Case, their associated category is paired with a “weight” used for calculations:
- Simple: Weight = 5
- Average: Weight = 10
- Complex: Weight = 15
The category it is placed into determines the weight of that Use Case.The weight is multiplied by the number of Use Cases that
fall under the category.The products found are then added together to create the UUCW total. Here is the formula:
UUCW = (Total No. of Simple Use Cases x 5) + (Total No. Average Use Cases x 10) + (Total No. Complex Use Cases x 15)
Boundaries for the input text fields:
- Input text fields only accept whole numbers. Decimals, letters or symbols are invalid input.
- Each text field needs to have at least one number in it.
- Every text field only allows to input a maximum of two integers.
- The accepted input is all numbers between 0 - 99.
For all calculation pages, the "Calculate" button MUST be selected before proceeding to the next page.
As a result of the severity of this action, the “Next” button is disabled until the “Calculate” button is selected.
If the "Calculate" button is selected, all page data is saved for the final Use Case Point Calculation.
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- 3. UAW
- The Unadjusted Actor weight has three categories that an actor can fall into based on the following descriptions:
- Simple: A simple actor is an external system that must interact with the system using a well-defined API.
- Average: An average actor is an external system that must interact with the system using standard communication protocols (e.g. TCP/IP, FTP, HTTP, database).
- Complex: A complex actor is a human actor using a GUI application interface.
After classifying each actor, their associated category is paired with a “weight” used for calculations:
- Simple: Weight = 1
- Average: Weight = 2
- Complex: Weight = 3
After all actors are classified, the UAW Total is calculated by multiplying the number of actors in a category to the weight of that category.
After multiplication, each product will be added together to create the UAW. Below is the formula:
UAW = (Total No. of Simple Actors x 1) + (Total No. Average Actors x 2) + (Total No. Complex Actors x 3)
Boundaries for the input text fields:
- Text fields only accept whole numbers. Decimals, letters or symbols are invalid input.
- Each text field needs to have at least one number in it.
- Every text field is only allows to input a maximum of two integers.
- The accepted input is all numbers between 0 - 99.
For all calculation pages, the "Calculate" button MUST be selected before proceeding to the next page.
As a result of the severity of this action, the “Next” button is disabled until the “Calculate” button is selected.
If the "Calculate" button is selected, all page data is saved for the final Use Case Point Calculation.
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- 4. TCF
- Each factor has a specified weight (listed in the table on the TCF Page).
These weights are pre-defined standard for Use Case Point calculations.Each factor determines whether it is critical or unimportant to the project.
Therefore, each Technical Factor (TF) needs one value selected for the calculation.
Once the “Calculate” button is pressed, each TF will multiply the predetermined weight to the value selected. All products of the multiplication
for each TF will be added together to create the official Technical Factor for the project.This TF will be placed into a formula used to receive
the TCF value. Here is the formula:
TCF = 0.6 + (TF/100)
For all calculation pages, the "Calculate" button MUST be selected before proceeding to the next page.
As a result of the severity of this action, the “Next” button is disabled until the “Calculate” button is selected.
If the "Calculate" button is selected, all page data is saved for the final Use Case Point Calculation.
For this calculation, the display value is rounded to two decimal places, but still the value is stored using all decimal places.
This will provide the user with an accurate UCP calculation.
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- 5. ECF
- Each factor has a specified weight (listed in the table on the ECF Page). These weights are pre-defined standard for Use Case Point
calculations. Each factor determines whether it’s critical or unimportant to the project. Therefore, each Environmental Factor (EF) needs
one value selected for the calculation.
Once the “Calculate” button is pressed, each EF will multiply the predetermined weight to the value selected. All products of the multiplication
for each EF will be added together to create the official Environmental Factor for the project.This EF will be placed into a formula used to
receive the ECF value. Here is the formula:
ECF = 1.4 + (-0.03 x EF)
For all calculation pages, the "Calculate" button MUST be selected before proceeding to the next page.
As a result of the severity of this action, the “Next” button is disabled until the “Calculate” button is selected.
If the "Calculate" button is selected, all page data is saved for the final Use Case Point Calculation.
For this calculation, the display value is rounded to two decimal places, but still the value is stored using all decimal places.
This will provide the user with an accurate UCP calculation.
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- 6. UCP
- The Use Case Points page contains the final calculation based on the four previous elements using the following formula:
UCP = (UUCW + UAW) x TCF x ECF
The final page will display the totals that were solved for in previous pages (UUCW, UAW, TCF and ECF).
The “New Calculation” button will clear all data from the current calculation. The user will be placed on the UUCW page to perform a new
calculation.
Now that you have your UCP total, you can use it for the following:
- Calculate for the PF (Productivity Factor). The Productivity Factor will determine a time estimate for your project.
The PF relates to how many hours it takes to complete each Use Case Point. Therefore, a PF of 28 means it will take 28 hours for 1 UCP.
- There are several ways to solve for a PF for Software Engineering. In fact, one of the ways uses the ECF table you just created!
- Keep in mind that it is not uncommon to factor in a “Project Management” percentage to your time estimate total. This will account
for any emails, updating documentation and other activities.
- After receiving your time estimate you can break it down into “work days” per month. This means, although there is roughly 30 days
in a month, there is realistically 21 working days in a month (think about holidays, vacations, etc.). Be sure to include these factors
in your time estimate.
- Create a historic table for long term data to be collected. This table should consist of the number of UCP’ the project had and how long
the project took.
As a result, if another project comes in and you solve for the UCP’s you now have a reference to how long previous projects with similar UCP totals took!
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