Software Test Effort Estimation Methods

This paper discusses current software test effort estimation methods, in particular “function point analysis”, “test point analysis” and “use case points”.

Abstract

Especially in the field of software engineering, effort estimation plays an essential role. Moreover,
the task of defining test scenarios and test cases is often underestimated during the early stages of the
software engineering process, due to the fact, that the amount and granularity of required test cases
and test steps is not known in advance, for instance, as a result of missing or incomplete requirement
specifications. Furthermore, the fact that fix price projects are becoming more and more common makes
the process of prior (test) effort estimation even more important, in order to not exceed the budget agreed
upon. This paper discusses three important aspects of this development. First, it elaborates on the
changing practices in project pricing, followed by a discussion of the general problems involved in the
field of effort estimation in software projects. Finally, a distinct selection of today’s commonly used
methods for test effort estimation will be presented: Function Point Analysis, Test Point Analysis and Use Case Points.

BibTex Citation

@booklet{Kerstner2011,
  author       = {Kerstner, Matthias},
  title        = {Software Test Effort Estimation Methods},
  year         = {2011},
  month        = feb,
  date         = {2},
  note         = {\url{https://www.kerstner.at/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Software_Test_Effort_Estimation_Methods_Kerstner_2011.pdf}}
}

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