The International Function Point Users' Group (IFPUG) is an entity dedicated to furthering the software improvement process with a strong focus on software measurement and the Function Point measure of software size.
Without statistical evidence, we cannot make claims of the use of best practices. We must measure, we must apply appropriate and useful metrics, we must collect and analyze what we measure, and we must learn from the results of that analysis. This book is an important contributor to the promotion and application of software measurement. When Allan Albrecht developed the idea of Function Points in the late 1970s, he probably did not envisage their use across the world thirty-plus years later. ! the International Function Point Users Group (IFPUG), formed to administer and grow what he started, continues to find new ways to educate people about the importance and use of software measurement, metrics, and management. This book, IFPUG's second, is a vital component in their education offensive. Although the themes running through the chapters in this book are measurement and metrics, the application of these themes is to the practical issues faced by project managers, CIOs, sales people, testers, QA personnel, outsourcers, bid evaluators, and IT managers. This volume should be a close-at-hand reference for all these people. --Peter R. Hill, CEO of the International Software Benchmarking Standards Group Limited