Software Estimation Best Practices, Tools, & Techniques A Complete Guide for Software Project Estimators
by Chemuturi, MuraliFormat: Hardcover
Pub. Date: 2009-07-01
Publisher(s): J. Ross Publishing
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Summary
Software Estimation Best Practices, Tools & Techniques covers all facets of software estimation. It provides a detailed explanation of the various methods for estimating software size, development effort, cost, and schedule, including a comprehensive explanation of test effort estimation. This unique desk reference, for the novice to expert, also offers direction on which methods are most appropriate for each of the different software project types commonly executed and criteria for selecting software estimation tools.
Author Biography
Murali Chemuturi is an information technology and software development subject matter expert, author, consultant and trainer. He has more than 23 years of information technology and software development experience and several years of academic experience teaching a variety of computer & IT courses. In 2001, he formed his own IT consulting, training and software development firm known as Chemuturi Consultants. Mr. Chemuturi's undergraduate degrees and diplomas are in Electrical and Industrial Engineering and he holds a MBA and a Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Methods & Programming. He is a published author in professional journals, a member of IEEE, a senior member of the Computer Society of India and a Fellow at the Indian Institute of Industrial Engineering.
Table of Contents
| Foreword | p. xi |
| Preface | p. xiii |
| About the Author | p. xvii |
| Acknowledgments | p. xix |
| Web Added Value TM | p. xxi |
| Software Estimation | p. 1 |
| Background | p. 1 |
| What Is Software Estimation? | p. 2 |
| Why Is Software Estimation Important? | p. 4 |
| When Is Software Estimation Carried Out? | p. 4 |
| Traditional Cost Estimation | p. 5 |
| Summary | p. 8 |
| Paradoxes of Software Estimation | p. 9 |
| The Paradox of Why Software Estimation Is Performed | p. 10 |
| The Paradox of Software Size | p. 11 |
| The Paradox of Software Productivity | p. 12 |
| The Paradox of Offering Fixed Bids | p. 14 |
| The Paradox of Actual versus Estimated Values | p. 15 |
| The Paradox of Uncertainty | p. 17 |
| Summary | p. 19 |
| Software Estimation from Scratch | p. 21 |
| Breaking the Project Down into Components and Constructing the Work Breakdown Structure | p. 22 |
| Complexity of Components | p. 25 |
| Appropriate Software-Sizing Technique | p. 26 |
| Applying the Productivity Figure | p. 26 |
| Uncertainty in Estimation | p. 27 |
| The Impact of Project Execution on Estimation | p. 29 |
| Summary | p. 29 |
| Software Estimation by Project Type | p. 31 |
| Classification of Software Projects | p. 32 |
| Projects Based on the Software Development Life Cycle | p. 33 |
| Full Life Cycle Projects | p. 33 |
| Partial Life Cycle Projects | p. 33 |
| Projects Based on How a Software Solution Is Arrived at | p. 35 |
| Fresh Development of Entire Software from Scratch | p. 35 |
| Software Implementation and Customization of a Commercial Off-the-Shelf Product | p. 35 |
| Porting of Software | p. 36 |
| Migration of Software | p. 37 |
| Conversion Projects | p. 39 |
| Software Maintenance Projects | p. 39 |
| Defect Fixing | p. 40 |
| Operational Support | p. 41 |
| Fixing Odd Behavior | p. 42 |
| Software Modification | p. 42 |
| Functional Expansion | p. 43 |
| Agile Software Development Projects | p. 44 |
| Web Projects | p. 45 |
| Summary | p. 47 |
| Approaches to Software Estimation | p. 49 |
| Ad Hoc Approach | p. 50 |
| Process-Driven Approach | p. 50 |
| Gross Estimates Approach | p. 51 |
| Detailed Estimates Approach | p. 52 |
| Software Size Estimates | p. 52 |
| Software Development Effort Estimates | p. 53 |
| The Delphi Technique for Software Estimation | p. 54 |
| Selection of Experts | p. 54 |
| Briefing the Experts | p. 55 |
| Collation of Estimates Received from the Experts | p. 55 |
| Convergence of Estimates and Finalization | p. 56 |
| Merits and Demerits of the Delphi Technique | p. 56 |
| Analogy-Based Software Estimation | p. 57 |
| Selection of Similar Past Projects | p. 58 |
| Shortlisting of Past Projects | p. 60 |
| Analogy-Based Estimation in Software Maintenance | p. 64 |
| Merits and Demerits of Analogy-Based Estimation | p. 64 |
| Summary | p. 65 |
| Software Size Estimation | p. 67 |
| Measuring the Size of What, Exactly? | p. 67 |
| Approaches to Software Size Measurement | p. 68 |
| Concerns with Software Size Estimation | p. 70 |
| Lines of Code | p. 71 |
| Merits and Demerits of Lines of Code | p. 73 |
| Function Points | p. 73 |
| External Input | p. 75 |
| External Output | p. 76 |
| External Inquiry | p. 77 |
| Internal Logical File | p. 78 |
| External Interface File | p. 78 |
| Obtaining the Unadjusted Function Point Count | p. 79 |
| Value Adjustment Factor | p. 80 |
| Obtaining the Adjusted Function Point Count | p. 82 |
| Merits and Demerits of Function Points | p. 82 |
| Use Case Points | p. 84 |
| Merits and Demerits of Use Case Points | p. 87 |
| Object Points | p. 88 |
| Merits and Demerits of Object Points | p. 89 |
| Mark II Function Point Analysis | p. 90 |
| Merits and Demerits of Mark II Function Point Analysis | p. 94 |
| Summary | p. 94 |
| Software Size Units | p. 97 |
| Definition of Software Size Unit | p. 98 |
| Procedure for Software Size Estimation Using Software Size Units | p. 99 |
| Software Development Effort Estimation from Software Size Units | p. 100 |
| How to Obtain Productivity Figures | p. 103 |
| Frequently Asked Questions about Software Size Units Computation | p. 104 |
| Merits and Demerits of Software Size Units | p. 105 |
| Summary | p. 105 |
| Software Estimation-Complexity or Density? | p. 107 |
| The Paradox of Complexity vis-a-vis Size | p. 108 |
| Density, Not Complexity | p. 112 |
| Summary | p. 113 |
| Software Development Effort Estimation | p. 115 |
| Effort Estimation Using Software Size | p. 115 |
| The Present Scenario | p. 115 |
| The Suggested Scenario | p. 117 |
| Influence of Software Development Methodologies on Software Estimation | p. 118 |
| Constructive Cost Model (COCOMO) | p. 120 |
| Basic COCOMO | p. 120 |
| Intermediate COCOMO | p. 121 |
| Advanced COCOMO | p. 122 |
| COCOMO II | p. 123 |
| Merits and Demerits of COCOMO | p. 123 |
| Task-Based Estimation | p. 124 |
| Arriving at Software Development Effort Using Task-Based Estimation | p. 128 |
| Merits and Demerits of Task-Based Estimation | p. 133 |
| Summary | p. 133 |
| Productivity for Software Estimators | p. 135 |
| Productivity | p. 135 |
| Concerns with Productivity | p. 136 |
| Standard Time | p. 137 |
| The Productivity Path | p. 140 |
| Classification of Software Development Activities | p. 142 |
| How Do We Arrive at Productivity? | p. 144 |
| Empirical Methods | p. 144 |
| Work Measurement | p. 145 |
| Capacity vis-a-vis Productivity | p. 149 |
| My Recommendation for How to Determine Productivity | p. 150 |
| Summary | p. 150 |
| Schedule Estimation for Software Development Projects | p. 153 |
| Initial Work Breakdown Structure | p. 154 |
| Work Breakdown Structure with Predecessors Defined | p. 155 |
| Work Breakdown Structure with Initial Dates | p. 157 |
| Work Breakdown Structure with Resource Allocation | p. 159 |
| Scheduling in Practice | p. 161 |
| Graphic Representation of Schedules | p. 161 |
| Summary | p. 162 |
| Software Development Cost Estimation | p. 165 |
| Pricing Models | p. 165 |
| Cost of Effort | p. 169 |
| Summary | p. 172 |
| Test Size and Effort Estimation | p. 173 |
| Testing Basics | p. 173 |
| Testing Scenarios | p. 174 |
| Project Testing/Embedded Testing | p. 174 |
| Product Testing | p. 175 |
| The "How" of Testing | p. 177 |
| Test Strategy | p. 179 |
| Test Estimation | p. 180 |
| Approaches to Test Effort Estimation | p. 181 |
| Software-Size-Based Estimation | p. 181 |
| Test-Case-Enumeration-Based Estimation | p. 183 |
| Task (Activity)-Based Estimation | p. 184 |
| Issues in Sizing Testing Projects | p. 186 |
| Who Needs Test Size Estimation? | p. 188 |
| Sizing a Testing Project | p. 189 |
| Weights | p. 189 |
| Merits and Demerits of Software Test Unit Estimation | p. 191 |
| Final Words about Test Effort Estimation | p. 192 |
| Summary | p. 193 |
| Pitfalls and Best Practices in Software Estimation | p. 195 |
| Pitfalls in Software Estimation | p. 196 |
| Inexperienced Estimators | p. 196 |
| Lack of Training | p. 197 |
| Lack of Historical Data | p. 198 |
| Inadequate Duration for Estimation | p. 199 |
| Nonconformance to Reviews | p. 199 |
| Not Measuring the Software Size of the Software Product Delivered | p. 200 |
| Lack of Causal Analysis of Variances | p. 200 |
| Usage of a Single Productivity Figure | p. 201 |
| Absence of Software Estimation Tools | p. 201 |
| Over- or Underestimation | p. 202 |
| Best Practices in Software Estimation | p. 203 |
| Organizational Support for Software Estimation | p. 204 |
| Software Estimation Process | p. 208 |
| Process | p. 208 |
| Final Words on the Software Estimation Process | p. 213 |
| Presentation of Software Estimates | p. 213 |
| Summary | p. 216 |
| Criteria for Selecting a Software Estimation Tool | p. 217 |
| Units of Measure for Software Size | p. 217 |
| A Common Unit of Measure for Software Size | p. 218 |
| Software Cost Estimation | p. 218 |
| Scheduling the Software Project | p. 219 |
| Estimation for Partial Life Cycle Projects | p. 220 |
| Usability | p. 220 |
| Usage of Popular Techniques | p. 221 |
| Auditability | p. 221 |
| Reporting Capability | p. 222 |
| Estimator Productivity | p. 222 |
| Summary | p. 222 |
| Variance Analysis between Actual and Estimated Values | p. 225 |
| Project Types and Suitable Software Estimation Techniques | p. 237 |
| Estimation Sheet for Delphi Technique | p. 239 |
| Deriving Productivity from Past Projects | p. 243 |
| Suggested Phases and Tasks for Task-Based Estimation | p. 251 |
| Sample Process Definition for Software Estimation | p. 259 |
| Estimation Presentation Template | p. 265 |
| Estimation Request Note Template | p. 269 |
| Quick Reference | p. 273 |
| Abbreviations | p. 281 |
| Index | p. 285 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
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