I40-420

The IFPUG I40-420 exam, covering the Function Point Counting Practices Manual, focuses on assessing your understanding of how to perform Function Point Analysis (FPA) according to the IFPUG standard. The main points revolve around these key areas:

• Understanding the FPA Methodology: This is foundational. You need to grasp the principles behind FFP (Function Point) analysis, its purpose (measuring software functionality), and how it differs from other software sizing methods.

• Identifying and Counting Data Functional Sizes: This is a major portion of the exam. You'll be tested on:

  • Differentiating between External Inputs (EI), External Outputs (EO), External Inquiries (EQ), Internal Logical Files (ILF), and External Interface Files (EIF). Understanding their definitions and accurately identifying them within a system's description is crucial.
  • Applying the counting rules for each of these five functional components. This includes understanding the concepts of DET (Data Element Type) and RET (Record Element Type) and how they influence the counts.
  • Handling complex scenarios and edge cases: The exam will likely feature situations requiring careful consideration of the counting rules, especially when dealing with ambiguous or complex system descriptions.

• Identifying and Counting Transactional Functional Sizes: While less emphasized than data functional sizes in some applications, understanding transaction sizing is still important. Similar to data functional sizes, you'll need to understand the rules for counting.

• Applying Complexity Adjustment: This is a crucial step. After calculating the unadjusted Function Points (UFP), you need to apply the complexity weighting based on the characteristics of each functional component. Understanding the weighting factors and how to properly apply them is essential.

• Calculating Total Function Points: This involves completing the calculations based on your counts and the complexity adjustments, leading to the final, adjusted Function Point (AFP) value.

• Understanding the IFPUG Counting Practices Manual (CPM): The exam directly tests your knowledge and application of the official IFPUG CPM guidelines. You must be comfortable referencing and applying the rules within the manual.

• Dealing with non-functional requirements: While FPA primarily focuses on functional size, understanding how to handle considerations for non-functional requirements and their impact on the overall process is important.

In short, the exam assesses your ability to accurately and consistently apply the IFPUG methodology to determine the functional size of software systems. Focus on understanding the definitions of each functional component, mastering the counting rules, and thoroughly understanding the complexity adjustment process. Practice with various scenarios and sample problems is key to success.