Sizing cloud applications with ISO/IEC 19761: A case study

Abstract

Despite business opportunities created by cloud software development becoming an irresistible trend, enterprises are daunted by the high complexity of managing cloud software development. Accurate cost estimations and time scheduling are essential to successfully manage cloud software development; quantification of the size of cloud software has a key role in supporting decisions that may occur. The international standard ISO/IEC 1976-1, a widely used functional-size measurement method, has the advantage of being able to be applied to real-time systems and more easily performing quantitative calculations. Using a case study method, this study guides and explains how to use ISO/IEC 1976-1 to measure the functional size of cloud software. The contributions of this research are primarily divided into the following three points: (a) introducing ISO/IEC 1976-1 to provide practical fields a systematic method to quantitatively measure the functional size of cloud software to support managerial decision-making, (b) using ISO/IEC 1976-1 as a practical guide and system for the management and applications measuring the size of cloud software, and (c) verifying the usability of ISO/IEC 1976-1 on size measurement of cloud software. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.