Contracting for IT Software Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Contracting for IT Software - Case Study Example The SLOC is a method that plays a huge role in estimating project costs for both an existing program and a program that is yet to be built. This approach is more straightforward and less risky particularly when dealing with an existing project. Three types of SLOC methods are used in project costs estimation. These are the physical SLOC, physical carriage returns, and the Logical SLOC. The physical SLOC is the most common in the development cost estimation process (Sudhakar 80). In the application of physical SLOC, one has to express the physical length of the code used by a programmer as seen by a physical eye. That is, the user applies this method by counting the lines of source code with the exclusion of comments and blank segments. To facilitate the counting process, a user builds automated counters of the physical lines of code. It is vital to note that the use of function points is another crucial method used in the estimation of IT software project costs. Function point entails a unit of measure that is used to determine the quantity of operational or business functionalities within an information system. The function points provide a measure of a software size. In general, it measures the size of a software development project by quantifying the software functionalities required by the user on the basis of the logical design and functional specifications. The function points method plays a huge role in ensuring that there is a clear measure of a software system’s size and complexity to aid in determining its development cost. Here, one function point represents one user required business function (Mislick and Nussbaum 66). It is essential to clarify the function point method can be used in the following way to determine the development costs of a software project.