A Metric of Software Size as a Tool for IT Governance

This paper proposes a new metric for software functional size, which is derived from Function Point Analysis (FPA), but overcomes some of its known deficiencies. The statistical results show that the new metric, Functional Elements (EF), and its sub metric, Functional Elements of Transaction (EFt), have higher correlation with the effort in software development than FPA in the context of the analyzed data. The paper illustrates the application of the new metric as a tool to improve IT governance specifically in assessment, monitoring, and giving directions to the software development area.