As AI technologies advance rapidly, the number of AI project procurements continues to grow. Yet the traditional Function Point (FP) method shows clear limitations: in AI projects such as chatbots or Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), the user interface may appear simple while massive data processing and complex computational workflows operate underneath. FP cannot capture the true size of these hidden engineering efforts, creating a risk that AI project budgets will be underestimated and ultimately unrealistic.
To address this gap, this report shifts the focus from AI model development to AI Application Service Construction (Engineering) and proposes a framework for size estimation. It recommends adopting the international SNAP (Software Non-functional Assessment Process) standard to quantify the technical complexity involved in back-end operations—such as data preprocessing, embedding generation, and vector-store construction—that FP cannot measure.
For a sound compensation system to take root, this report suggests key directions: discovering automated measurement tools for AI technical scope, accumulating AI project data, and fostering the AI engineering company ecosystem. Ultimately, these efforts will contribute to enhancing the accuracy and transparency of AI project size estimation.
