A Symons Mark II Function Point Counting Example

I provide, here clear explanations and a count of function points, using the Symons Mark II method.

We start by identifying the subprocesses (entry, exit, read, write) for each functional process; The size of a functional process is the sum of its data movements (entry, exit, read, write) and the size of a piece of software is the sum of the sizes of all of its functional processes.

So the Function Point Index (FPI) for an application is: FPI = Wi * SNi + We * SNe + Wo * SNo, where ‘S‘ means the sum over all Logical Transactions, and the industry average weights per Input Data Element Type, Data Entity Type Reference and Output Data Element Type are, respectively:

Now here is an example of this in practise, intended to demonstrate the practicalities of performing the count, see the Simmons counting point manual (CPM) for information about the rules used.

Specification:
Let us assume a data model for a simple software system intended to keep track of the sales, products, and stock (inventory) of a pizza restaurant.

The system should be able to have sales details entered, including the type and number of each product in each sale This allows a receipt to be printed for the customer.

It also allows the inventory(stock) to be automatically updated. It should be possible to add new products, delete existing products, or modify the recipe of a product. It should be possible to produce a product report listing all the products available.

As well as listing each product, this report will also show, for each product, the product no., the product description, its constituent item nos., item descriptions, and quantity used. A weekly report should be produced automatically, each Monday at 8am, showing the quantity of each product sold in the previous week.

The process of sending orders to suppliers is not shown in the model. This is because each authorised supplier has access to the restaurant system and is expected to dispatch a standard quantity, with its invoice note, when the stocks of any items which it supplies fall below the minimum order quantity. When a consignment arrives from a supplier, it should be possible to enter on the system the details of the items/quantities/prices, so that the inventory(stock) is automatically updated.

At the end of each month the accountant inspects the invoices and pays the bills. It should be possible for her to record that an invoice has been paid. Access to the system is through a single menu.

Generic assumptions:
1) This Function count was obtained using MkII version 1.3.1 of the CPM based on a project viewpoint, only logical transaction sizes are given since there is no data for effort.

2) As per rule 1 of the CPM, only functional requirements directly referenced in the user specification are considered, corrections are only made to provide such functionality therein.

3) Given that there is no historic data about effort required in previous systems, I have used the following industry standards weighing: 0.58 for Wi, 1.66 for We and 0.26 for E0.

4) The intention is to present an abstract, theoretical view of the major entities and relationships needed for management of electronic resources.

5) This pizza restaurant is not very service oriented and does not allow customers to mix and or match toppings.

6) This is a 'McDonald' style system where products are quantity controlled by weight.

Transactional Functions:
[a] Enter sale details (External input);

Assumptions:
1) Receipt number is automatically generated .

2) “Product_Description” is assumed to be a summary entry of about 60 characters, including the name

3)Product entity requires the attribute “Type_Of_Item”, to store category data, there is a distinction between the manufactured goods sold such as soft drinks and the pizzas that are created in-house.

Inputs:
1) Select new sale (control); User action expressed by selection of command [Sale: Receipt_No].

2) Select product type (business); User choses from categorised drop-down list of pizza related product types [Product: Type_Of_Item].

3) Select product “name” (business); User choses from a drop-down list of pizza related goods. [Product: Product_Description > Receipt_No & Product_No].

4) Select number of item (business); Customer may order 3 large margarita pizzas [Item_sale: Quantity_Sold].

5) Confirm sale (control); This is a recursive menu selection system.

Outputs:
1) Error/conformation (control); End of sales data interaction cycle.

Entities:
1) Sale; Occurrence of a sale recorded here [Write All data].

2) Item_sale; Functional relationship to sale entity (List of products for this sales) [Write all data].

3) Recipe; Required to determine the inventory items to be subtracted from the inventory_item entity [Read all data].

4) Inventory_item; Required to change the inventory(stock) level for items used [Read Item_No, Write Quantity_In_Stock] (Quantity of Item x - Recipe:Quantity_Used).

5) System; Provides the automatically generated sales receipt number and Date.

FPI count: (0.58*5) + (1.66 * 5) +(0.26*1) = 11.46

[b] Add new products (External input); Assumptions:
1) Product & item numbers are automatically generated.

2) The inventory included food items and related products such as recipe ingredients for the piazzas and both the can, boxes and plastic utensils.

Inputs:
1) Select new product (control); User action expressed by selection of command [Product: Product_No, Recipe: Item_no, Inventory_item: Item_no].

2) Select type of item (control); Required for product classification [Product: Type_Of_Item > Inventory_item: Type_Of_Item];

2a) Or enter new product type (control);

2b) Enter product type name (business); [Product: Type_Of_Item];

3) Enter product description (business); Product description [Product: Product_Description].

4) Select item (business); [Recipe: Product_no > Inventory_item: item_no].

4a) Or enter Item Description (business); Goods description, [Inventory_item: Item_Description].

4b) Enter stock level (business); [Inventory_item: Quantity_In_Stock].

4c) Enter item reorder level (business); [Inventory_item: Minimum_Order_Quantity].

5) Enter quantity (business); Quantity of the item per sales unit a bit ridiculous for products that do not require ingredients [Recipe: Quantity_Used].

6) Add ingredient to product (control); Optional, not all products require additional items.

6a) Enter Item Description (business); Good description, [Inventory_item: Item_Description].

4b) Enter stock level (business); [Inventory_item: Quantity_In_Stock].

4c) Enter item reorder level (business); [Inventory_item: Minimum_Order_Quantity].

Outputs:
1) Error/conformation (control); End of sales data interaction cycle.

Entities:
1) Product; Occurrence of a product recorded here [Write all data].

2) Recipe; Link entity, for the inventory required to deliver the project [Write all data].

3) Inventory_item; Stores the stock data for the goods ,[Write all data].

4) System; Provides the automatically generated product and item numbers..

FPI count: (0.58*14) + (1.66 * 4) +(0.26*1) = 15.02

[c] Delete existing products (External input); Assumptions:
1) Despite being required to make the system efficient, inventory control operations are not included here.

2) Here Delete refers to the recipe entry.

Inputs:
1) Select product deletion (control); User action expressed by selection of command.

2) Select product type (business); User choses from categorised drop-down list of pizza related product types [Product: Type_Of_Item].

3) Select product “name” (business); User choses from a drop-down list of pizza related goods. [Product: Product_Description > Receipt_No & Product_No].

4) Select deletion (control); “This will delete selected product. Continue [Y/N]”

Outputs:
1) Confirmation to user (control);

Entities:
1) Product; Occurrence of a product recorded here [Read all data];

2) Recipe; Stores the inventory data required for the product, [Read all data].

FPI count: (0.58*4) + (1.66 * 2)+ (0.26*1) = 5.9

[d] Modify product recipe (External input); Assumptions:
1) Recipe refers only to the ingredients and amounts required.

Inputs:
1) Select product Modification (control);

2) Select product type (business); User choses from categorised drop-down list of pizza related product types [Product: Type_Of_Item].

3) Select product “name” (business); User choses from a drop-down list of pizza related goods. [Product: Product_Description >Recipe: Product_No].

4) Select deletion (control); “This will delete selected item. Continue [Y/N]”

5) Change quantity of item (business); User choses from a drop-down list of pizza related goods. [Product: Product_Description > Recipe: Quantity_Used].

6) Add ingredient to product (control); Optional, not all products require additional items.

6a) Enter Item Description (business); Good description, [Inventory_item: Item_Description].

6b) Enter stock level (business); [Inventory_item: Quantity_In_Stock].

6c) Enter item reorder level (business); [Inventory_item: Minimum_Order_Quantity].

Outputs:
1) Confirmation to user (control);

Entities: 1) Product; Occurrence of a product recorded here [Read all data];

2) Recipe; Stores the inventory data required for the product, [Read all data].

FPI count: (0.58*9) + (1.66 * 2) (0.26*1) = 8.8

[e] Report all available products (External output);

Inputs:
1) Select Report products (control); User action expressed by selection of command.

Outputs:
1) Time and date;
2) Heading;
3) Product_No;
4) Product_Description;
5) Item_No;
6) Item_Description;
7) Quantity_Used;

Inventory_item: Type_Of_Item];

2a) Or enter new product type (control);

2b) Enter product type name (business); [Product: Type_Of_Item];

4) Select item (business); [Recipe: Product_no > Inventory_item: item_no].

4a) Or enter Item Description (business); Good description, [Inventory_item: Item_Description].

4b) Enter stock level (business); [Inventory_item: Quantity_In_Stock].

4c) Enter item reorder level (business); [Inventory_item: Minimum_Order_Quantity]. 5) Enter quantity received (business); Additional Quantity of the item [Invoice_item: Quantity_Added> Inventory_item: ].

Outputs:
1) Confirmation to user (control);

Entities:
1) Product; Occurrence of a product recorded here [Read all data];

2) Inventory_item; Stores the inventory data required for the product, [Read all data].

3) Invoice_item; Stores the inventory data required for the product, [Read all data].

FPI count: (0.58*9) + (1.66 * 4) (0.26*1) = 12.12

[i] Record payment of invoices (External input); Inputs:
1) Select orders (control);

2) Select product type (business); User choses from categorised drop-down list of pizza related product types [Inventory_item: Type_Of_Item].

3) Select product “name” (business); User choses from a drop-down list of pizza related goods. Inventory_item: Item_Description > Invoice_item: item_no ].

4) Select payment received (business); User records that an invoice has been paid.

Outputs:
1) Confirmation to user (control);

Entities:
1) Inventory_item; Stores the inventory data required for the product, [Read all data].

2) Invoice_item; Stores the inventory data required for the product, [Read all data].

3) Invoice; Occurrence of a consignment recorded here.

FPI count: (0.58*4) + (1.66 * 3) (0.26*1) = 7.56

Virtual system entity functions:
[a] Generate receipt number (business);
[b] Generate date and time stamp (business);
[c] Error reporting (control);
[d] Generation primary keys indexes (business);
[d] Process conformation (control)

I am the website administrator of the Wandle industrial museum (http://www.wandle.org). Established in 1983 by local people determined to ensure that the history of the valley was no longer neglected but enhanced awareness its heritage for the use and benefits of the community.

shuttle from O'Hare Bingham .. Lockport Chicago limo O’Hare
In The News:

Attackers use caller ID spoofing and AI voices to steal money. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson provides seven ways to protect yourself.
Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about the Genesis GV60 MIV, an electric rescue EV with snow tracks for extreme missions.
Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson helps you ensure a smooth online experience with a reliable, secure home network setup.
Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about Vollebak’s Shielding Suit, which blocks EM radiation, infrared and tracking for privacy.
Even Apple products are vulnerable to cybercriminals, and a new report suggests the owners of Mac products will have to be more vigilant this year.
An inflatable six-person tiny house from a firm called 2001 looks like a space station with its inflatable dome that is transportable and eco-friendly.
Scams cost Americans an estimated $159 billion every year and average about $3,500 in losses per victim. The CyberGuy has advice to protect yourself.
Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents
Zeekr and Waymo are joining forces for the world's first mass-produced autonomous vehicle, combining an electric vehicle with self-driving technology.
A humanoid robot training center has opened in Shanghai, a big step in China's efforts to become a global leader in robotics and artificial intelligence.
Security experts have discovered that hackers are targeting apps on the App Store to spread malware that steals information from saved screenshots.
A new luxury SUV combines military-inspired design and high-end luxury transportation and includes two military-grade gas masks to protect against chemical warfare.
80% of stalking victims are tracked using tech. GPS trackers, like AirTags, are among the most popular ways to do it. Here's how to protect yourself.
Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.
Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson explains how to protect yourself against artificial intelligence-fueled romance scams, which have become the most common type of fraud in 2025.
Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson explains the steps to declutter text messages on a Mac or iPad. Apple offers ways to do this more efficiently.
Here's how to take control of the algorithms on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok if your social media feeds aren't showing you content you want to see.
Beware of iCloud scams using urgent messages. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson helps you spot the red flags to protect yourself.
Travel abroad worry-free with these top translation apps for travelers. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson highlights some favorites.
The European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope was going through preliminary tests in September 2023 when it captured images of an Einstein Ring in a nearby galaxy.
Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says hackers are using Microsoft Teams for phishing, vishing and quishing via social engineering.
Red light camera tickets: Not liable to ID the driver; some are fishing expeditions. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson helps you fight back against tricky fake tickets.
The apps collecting the most data about you are among the most widely used. Kurt the CyberGuy takes a look at 20 of these apps and how you can protect personal information.
AST SpaceMobile of Texas is developing the world's first global cellular broadband network that can connect directly to your smartphone without special equipment.
Community Health Center, a Connecticut-based healthcare provider, has disclosed a recent data breach affecting over 1 million people in the U.S.

Microsoft Great Plains, Navision, Axapta ? Selection Considerations

During the years of our consulting practice, which comes back... Read More

Lotus Notes Domino and Microsoft CRM Integration

Well, even if the combination might look very unusual, we... Read More

ERP Remote Support: Microsoft Great Plains Analysis ? Pluses & Minuses

Former Great Plains Software Dynamics/eEnterprise and currently Microsoft Business Solutions... Read More

SSH (SCP) Send Files from Windows to Your Linux Box

Not all of us have the luxury of working both... Read More

Microsoft Navision and Crystal Reports - An Overview

Microsoft Business Solutions ? Navision is an integrated solution for... Read More

Change Your Word Docs in Record Time!

Anyone who has ever used Microsoft Word knows that it... Read More

How to Make Attractive and Effective PowerPoint Presentations

Microsoft PowerPoint has dramatically changed the way in which academic... Read More

Do You Know These Facts About Spyware ?

Imagine something that follows you home and sets itself up... Read More

C++ Function Templates

C++ Function templates are those functions which can handle different... Read More

Downloading Spyware Removers: Think Before, not After

Just imagine: you are walking, say, towards your car, and... Read More

Getting Patched with Windows Service Pack

Are you one of those people that keeps track of... Read More

10 Ways to Learn a Software

Following tips help you to learn a software in lesser... Read More

Microsoft CRM: Implementation, Customization, Support ? Consultant Overview

Microsoft Business Solutions CRM is present several years on the... Read More

Marketing Your WinRunner Team

It won't matter how effective your WinRunner Team is if... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Implementation & Customization: Computer Parts Retailer Example

Microsoft Great Plains fits to majority of horizontals and retail... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains & CRM in Transportation & Logistics ? Overview

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains and MS CRM (client relation... Read More

Internet Security Threats: Who Can Read Your Email?

Before being able to choose a secure Internet communication system,... Read More

Should I Use Windows Update?

Should one use Windows Update?This topic has good and valid... Read More

Crystal Reports for Microsoft Great Plains

Microsoft Business Solutions ? Great Plains is designed to meet... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Partner Selection: Overview

Microsoft Great Plains, Navision, Solomon and Axapta are Microsoft Business... Read More

How to Build a Basic CSS Layout

Designing without tables by using CSS layouts is fast becoming... Read More

25 Things Mapping Software Can Do For You

1. With mapping software you can create a report that... Read More

What is Shareware?

Shareware is software that you can try before you buy;... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Integration with Legacy Systems ? Overview For Developer

Looks like Microsoft Great Plains becomes more and more popular,... Read More

A Symons Mark II Function Point Counting Example

I provide, here clear explanations and a count of function... Read More

Mishawaka limo O'Hare ..