Nesma

What Nesma does

Nesma is a Dutch not-for-profit, independent organization founded in 1998 (originally as NEFPUG, the Netherlands Function Point Users Group) that develops and promotes software measurement methodologies and serves as a global Body of Knowledge for software metrics, cost engineering, and benchmarking. The organization is organized and managed entirely by volunteers, with a four-person board led by President Harold van Heeringen, and hosts annual in-person events in the Netherlands (e.g., the 2025 member event at the Dutch Tax Office in Apeldoorn). Its core intellectual property is Easy Functional Sizing (EFS), an ISO/IEC 25986-compliant simplified functional sizing method designed for Agile and DevOps workflows, alongside the traditional Nesma Function Point Analysis (FPA) methodology, both of which are described as being used in thousands of high-stakes contracts worldwide.

Nesma's product portfolio includes EFS guidelines, the EFS comprehensive book (sold on Amazon in English and Dutch), the annual individual membership (€125/year, or €151.25 including VAT), and professional certifications (CFPS and the new SCEC developed with ICEAA). Revenue is generated through recurring memberships, one-time product sales, certification exam fees, and value-added partner access (ISBSG benchmarking data). Distribution runs through nesma.org (direct), Amazon (marketplace), and an annual conference plus webinar series.

The customer base is primarily IT professionals and software practitioners (project managers, sizing analysts, developers, Scrum Masters) and organizations that need fact-based software metrics for contracting, cost estimation, and benchmarking. The organization explicitly positions itself as horizontal, independent, and not vendor-aligned, which is both a positioning strength and a structural limit on revenue scaling given its volunteer-run model.

Name

Nesma

Legal name

Nesma

Website

https://nesma.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Nesma is a Dutch not-for-profit organization founded in 1998 that develops and promotes software measurement methodologies—primarily Easy Functional Sizing (EFS) and Nesma Function Point Analysis (FPA)—for IT professionals, cost engineers, and organizations seeking fact-based software sizing and benchmarking.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Software Measurement Standards

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Software Publishers (513210), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Statistical Process Control (SPC) & Measurement Systems (MSA/Gage R&R) (EDABAKAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Assessment, Certification & Qualifications Frameworks (BPADAKAL), Finance, Accounting & Risk (CFA/CPA/FRM) Certifications (EDAAANAD), Portfolio, Performance & Rubric-Based Assessment Platforms (EDAFADAL)

Keywords

• Software measurement standards
• Function point analysis
• Software cost estimation
• ISO/IEC 25986
• Functional sizing methodology

Headquarters

HQ city

Veendam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: Individual memberships are sold on an annual subscription basis at €125 per year (excluding VAT), which is €151.25 including VAT. Members receive free downloads of Nesma manuals and guidelines, exclusive discounts on ISBSG data and CFPS certification exams, and free entry to annual conferences and events.
2. EFS Guidelines (Non-members): The EFS Guidelines-only e-book is sold for €19.95 to non-members. The comprehensive EFS book (including examples and implementation guidance) is available on Amazon in English and Dutch versions.
3. Professional Certifications: Revenue generated from exam fees for CFPS (Certified Function Point Specialist) and other specialized certifications. Members receive significant discounts on these exams.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Nesma is a not-for-profit organization that develops, maintains, and disseminates standardized software measurement methodologies — primarily Easy Functional Sizing (EFS) and Nesma Function Point Analysis (FPA) — and grants the Certified Function Point Specialist (CFPS) credential to qualified practitioners. Its offerings include individual professional membership, reference guidelines, formal training via the SCEC course, and certification registration. The methodologies support objective sizing, benchmarking, and cost estimation of software projects across industries.

Product overview

Nesma is a not-for-profit, independent organization focused on software measurement methodology and standards. Its portfolio centers on Easy Functional Sizing (EFS), the flagship ISO/IEC 25986-compliant methodology for rapid Agile/DevOps-aligned functional sizing, and traditional Nesma Function Point Analysis (FPA) with comprehensive counting guidelines. The product line includes a lightweight EFS Guidelines Only e-book for experienced practitioners, an annual membership (€125/year) providing standards access, benchmarking data, certification discounts, and event entry, plus professional certifications (CFPS and the upcoming SCEC with ICEAA). All resources are provided for free to members, with guides and articles available at no cost to anyone. The offerings are tied together by a monthly newsletter and community events including an annual Netherlands conference.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Easy Functional Sizing (EFS)

Quantifiable outcome

• EFS yields results statistically comparable to detailed function point counts with less than 2% average difference
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• International Software Benchmarking Standards Group (ISBSG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerISBSG provides historical project data based on functional size that enables industry benchmarking. Nesma members receive exclusive discounts to ISBSG data and performance benchmarks that help validate project estimates against global peers.
• China SPIminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerNesma partner for CFPA certification in China. China SPI has certified many people as CFPA practitioners in China, expanding Nesma's reach and certification program internationally.
• International Cost Estimation and Analysis Association (ICEAA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNesma is developing new certifications such as the Software Cost Estimation (SCEC) program in collaboration with ICEAA, expanding professional development offerings for the software measurement community.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• IFPUG (International Function Point Users Group): IFPUG is the original Function Point Analysis standards body and the closest direct competitor to Nesma. Both organizations maintain FPA methodologies, certify practitioners, and serve the same functional size measurement community.
• COSMIC: COSMIC publishes the COSMIC Function Points method (ISO/IEC 19761), a direct alternative to Nesma FPA/EFS for measuring functional software size. Both compete for adoption in benchmarking and output-based contracts globally.

Others

• CAST Software: CAST provides application intelligence and software structural quality measurement platforms. It is an adjacent technology peer that addresses objective software measurement, though focused on code-level analysis rather than functional sizing.
• ICEAA (International Cost Estimating and Analysis Association): ICEAA is Nesma's co-development partner on the new SCEC (Software Cost Estimation Certification). It serves a closely related cost engineering and estimation professional community.
• ISBSG (International Software Benchmarking Standards Group): ISBSG is Nesma's strategic partner and the leading repository of software project benchmark data organized by functional size. Highly relevant as an ecosystem enabler; Nesma members receive discounted ISBSG data access.
• Consortium for IT Software Quality (CISQ):

Emerging players

• QSM (Quantitative Software Management): QSM provides SLIM-Estimate and software sizing tools that rely on function points as a core input. Comparable because they enable software measurement and estimation decisions for IT organizations.
• Galorath: Galorath provides the SEER-SEM software estimation platform, an emerging commercial player that uses functional size inputs (including function points) for cost and schedule estimation, partially overlapping with Nesma's measurement-driven value proposition.

Broad incumbents

• CMMI Institute: CMMI Institute sets broad software and process maturity standards that often reference or rely on functional size measurement. It is a larger incumbent that overlaps thematically with Nesma's standards work but at a much broader scope.

Regional players

• Software Improvement Group (SIG): SIG is a Netherlands-based software quality benchmarking and measurement consultancy that uses comparable ISO-aligned functional sizing approaches. Relevant as a regional Netherlands peer serving the same local software measurement market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Nesma_org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nesma-org

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nesma