Function point metrics are the most accurate and effective metrics yet developed for performing software economic studies, quality studies, and value analysis. The success of function point metrics for software applications leads to the conclusion that the logic of function point metrics should be applied to a linked suite of similar metrics that can size other business and technical topics.

In spite of the considerable success of function point metrics in improving software quality and economic research, there are a number of important topics that still cannot be measured well or even measured at all in some cases. Here are some areas where there is a need for of related metrics within a broad family of functional metrics:

1. Application function point metrics
2. Component feature point metrics
3. Hardware function point metrics
4. COTS application point metrics
5. Micro function point metrics
6. Data point metrics
7. Web-site point metrics
8. Software usage point metrics
9. Service point metrics
10. Risk point metrics
11. Value point metrics
12. Security point metrics
13. Configuration point metrics (developed by IBM)

This combination of a related family of functional metrics would expand the ability to perform economic studies of modern businesses and government operations that use software, web sites, data, and other business artifacts at the same time for the same ultimate goals.

Software and on-line data are among the most widely utilized commodities in human history. If you consider the total usage of various commodities, the approximate global rank in terms of overall usage would be:

1. Water
2. Salt
3. Rice
4. Wheat
5. Bread
6. Corn
7. Fish
8. Clothing
9. Shoes
10. Software
11. On-line web data
12. Alcoholic beverages
13. Electricity
14. Gasoline and oil
15. Aluminum

(The sources of data for this table include a number of web sites and government tables. The importance is not actual rankings, but the fact that software and on-line data in 2015 are used so widely that they can be included in the list.)

The expansion of software (and on-line data) to join the world’s most widely used commodities means that there is an urgent need for better metrics and better economic analysis. Because of the widespread deployment of software and the millions of software applications already developed or to be developed in the future, software economic studies are among the most critical of any form of business analysis. Unfortunately, lack of an integrated suite of metrics makes software economic analysis extremely difficult.

I published an article to propose a suite of related metrics that are based on the logic of function points, but expanding that logic to other business and technical areas. The metrics are hypothetical and additional research would be needed to actually develop such a metrics suite. You can download the article here.