paying by the word

[Ned Bedinger]

Patterson, Jan wrote:
> Ned asks "What's a function point?"
>
> Quoted from Wikipedia: "Function points are an ISO recognized software
> metric to size an information system based on the functionality that is
> perceived by the user of the information system, independent of the
> technology used to implement the information system."
>
> Function points are something that can be considered when estimating the
> size of a software development project in order to estimate number of
> hours/resources. There's more info in Wikipedia if you want to check it
> out.
>   
Thanks, Jan.

I think I see why FP Analysis was useful as a sort of Black Box meets 
Use Case analysis. I can see it as a platform for planning end user 
documentation, and with refinement maybe even as a framework for 
collecting tech writing productivity metrics. That is to say, FP's focus 
on user functional requirements and UI design would be welcomed 
groundwork on any End User doc project I can think of at the moment. I 
don't really see how a pay schedule or work schedule based on FP would 
work--one wants a standard to measure work against, but what standard is 
there when topics and functions are whatever size they need to be?

Ned Bedinger
doc at edwordsmith.com