0. Planning a software project: Estimation and Measurement
José Onofre Montesa Andrés
Universidad Politécnica de Valencia
Escuela Superior de Informática Aplicada

1. GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.
Effort evaluation
Two variables:
Size of the system to be developed
Productivity of our people.
Finish
speed
Start
Distance
GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.

2. GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.
Estimation problem.
Find out the cost for developing an application .(man-month, euros, …)
Moment when we wish to know the cost (Boehm graphic)
It’s always wonted very soon (Yourdon)
GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.

3. Software cost estimation accuracy versus phase.
GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.

4. Proposed estimate process.
Requirements specifications
Requirements to carry out
Tasks to be done
Split up in stages and tasks
Measure what the users wants
Effort estimation
Estimate the effort
Measurement what the users wants
Enterprise records
GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.

5. Measure what the user wants.
GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.

6. GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.
Effort estimation.
Individual expertise.
Enterprise expertise.
GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.

7. Methods used for the project estimation.
Based on experience.
Based on Resources exclusively.
Method Based on Market exclusively.
Based on the product components or on development process.
Algorithmic Methods
La estimación de proyectos acompaña a cualquier ingeniería y la informática no es una excepción. Otro tema son los methods utilizados y su fiabilidad (conformidad con los resultados obtenidos). Dada la juventud de la informática hasta hace poco no se vislumbraban methods estándar. Esta es una de las razones que hace aconsejable el hacer un pequeño repaso a los methods utilizados hasta hoy en día. La siguiente clasificación ha sido ampliada en clase
GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.

8. methods Based on experience exclusively:
Expert judgment
Pure,
Delphi
Analogy
Using the life cycle resource distribution.
GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.

9. GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.
Expert judgment: Pure
An expert studies the specifications and make his estimation.
It is mainly based on the expert knowledge.
If the expert disappears the enterprise stop estimating.
GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.

10. Expert judgment : Wideband Delphi
A group of people are informed and tried to guess the development cost in effort as well as in time.
Estimations in group are usually
better than the
individual ones.
GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.

11. Working method of Wideband Delphi
The specifications are given to a group of experts.
They meet to discuss the product as well as estimation.
The individual estimations are send to de coordinator.
Each estimator receives information about his estimation and the others but anonymously.
They meet again in order to discuss their estimations.
Each one checks his own estimation and sends it to the coordinator.
The whole process is repeated till the estimation converge in a reasonable way.
GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.

12. Working method of Wideband Delphi
Juan *
Alicia *
José *
María *
Estimaciones
Juan *
Alicia *
José *
María *
Estimaciones
GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.

13. GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.
Analogy
This method involves reasoning by analogy with one or more projects to relate the actual cost to an estimate of the cost of similar new project.
GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.

14. Analogy, we can take into account factors as:
Size: larger or smaller?
Complexity: More or less complex?
Users: More users more difficulties.
Unknown factors:
Operating software (The first time).
Hardware. Is it the first time to be used?
Project staff. Are they new to the organization?
GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.

15. Using the life cycle resources distribution.
Organizations often know the distribution of costs across the stages.
If we have already achieved some stages in a project, the costs are expected to be distributed in this way.
Feasibility
Planning and Requirements
General Design
Detailed Design
Code
Test
10%
17%
15%
15%
33%
10%
2 m. ?
GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.

16. Method based on available resources exclusively: Parkinson
Estimation is based on how many staff is available and how long for.
In the development:
“Work expands to fill the
available volume”
(Parkinson Law)
GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.

17. Method based on market only: price to win.
The important think is to get contract.
The price is fixed according to what the client is prepared to pay.
If it is used together with other methods it can be acceptable, to adjust the offer.
Dangerous if it is the only method applied.
GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.

18. Method based on the product components or on development process:
Top-Down
The whole project is seen, it is split in large stages.
The cost of each component is estimated.
Bottom-up
The project is split up in smaller as possible units.
Each unit is estimated and the total cost is calculate.
GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.

19. Algorithmic methods
Provide one or more algorithms which produce a software cost estimate as a function of a number of variables which are considered to be the major cost drivers from a top down or bottom up view u
Characteristics v
f(x) x
Cost
...
Application to be developed y z
GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.

20. COCOMO: The constructive cost model
The variables user are thinks like:
The size of the product in lines of code,
The development environment...
Organic, There are two more.
Nominal-effort = 3.2 (KLOC)1.05
Schedule = 2.5 (MM)0.38
GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.

21. GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.
COCOMO
Determine effort multipliers:
B.D. Size, analyst experience, tools , … (15 total, vary from )
Effort estimation with corrections.
Related factors estimation ($, phase elapsed time ,…)
GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.

22. Function Point analysis
To be applied on the first phases of the development.
It is mainly based on “external” characteristics of the application to be developed.
It measures two characteristic types:
The function elements (inputs, outputs, files)
The complexity factors.
GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.

23. Required effort estimation.
We use historical data on previous projects.
Effort = PFA*Average_cost_FP(Language)
GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.

24. Required effort estimation
GPII-2A Planning a software project: Estimation & Measurement.