Sign in  |  Register
Advanced search
Publication Cover

CITATION

Peter Hill and International Software Benchmarking Standards Group. Practical Software Project Estimation: A Toolkit for Estimating Software Development Effort & Duration. US: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media, 2010.

Practical Software Project Estimation: A Toolkit for Estimating Software Development Effort & Duration

Authors: Peter Hill and International Software Benchmarking Standards Group

Published:  September 2010

eISBN: 9780071717922 0071717927 | ISBN: 9780071717915
Open eBook
  • Contents
  • Foreword
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction
  • 1 Project Estimation: Background, Concepts, and Approaches
  • Types of Project Requirements
  • Functional Size
  • Software Estimation Approaches
  • Other Techniques
  • Estimate Ranges
  • Timing of Estimates
  • Producing a Detailed Estimate
  • Use of Function Point Sizing (Functional Size Measurement) in Effort Estimation
  • Summary
  • 2 Factors That Influence Productivity
  • Project Attributes That Influence Project Delivery Rate
  • Are Some Languages Better Than Others?
  • What Is the Impact of Team Size?
  • What Other Project Attributes Are Interesting?
  • Does the Platform Make a Difference?
  • Development Type
  • Language Type
  • Application Type
  • Application Architecture
  • Other Project-Specific Characteristics Known to Influence PDR
  • Summary
  • 3 Software Estimates: How Accurate Are They?
  • What Does “Accurate” Mean?
  • The Project Details
  • A General Picture
  • Estimation Techniques
  • Individual Estimates
  • Effort Estimates
  • Effort Estimation Techniques
  • Delivery Date (Project Duration)
  • Duration Estimation Techniques
  • Cost Estimates
  • Summary
  • 4 Sizing Software and Size-Approximation Accuracy
  • Sizing Accuracy Levels
  • Level 6: Size Approximation
  • Level 5: Rough Size Measure
  • Level 4: Default Complexity Measure
  • Level 3: Detailed Measure
  • Level 2: Detailed Linked Measure
  • Level 1: Detailed Linked and Labelled Measure
  • Classifying Size Approximation Techniques
  • Size Approximation Accuracy
  • Summary
  • 5 Some Practical Software Size Approximation Techniques
  • Direct Size Approximation
  • Derived Size Approximation
  • Early Approximation of Functional Size Using ISBSG Data
  • KISS Quick Software Size Estimation Technique
  • Moving from Basic KISS Quick Approach to Other Accuracy Levels
  • Early & Quick Software Size Estimation Technique
  • Early & Quick for COSMIC Function Point Size
  • Some Other Examples of Extrapolative Approaches to Size Approximation
  • Using Functional Size to Estimate Project Effort and Duration
  • The Need for Caution
  • Summary
  • 6 The Problem of Missing Functionality
  • Identifying Missing Functionality
  • Managing Changes and Additions to Functionality
  • Scope Management
  • Summary
  • 7 Estimating Using Equations
  • ISBSG Regression Equation Tables
  • Using the ISBSG Regression Equations
  • Creating Graphs from the Equations
  • Example Effort Estimate Using the Equations
  • Summary
  • 8 Estimating Using Comparison
  • Using the Comparison Technique
  • Summary
  • 9 Estimating Using Analogy
  • Background: Reasoning by Analogy
  • Estimating by Analogy
  • Advantages of Estimating by Analogy
  • The Drawbacks of Estimating by Analogy
  • Summary
  • 10 Estimating Using Work Breakdown Structure
  • Work Breakdown Structure: Introduction
  • Using Process Models for Micro-Estimation
  • Summary
  • 11 How Do I Estimate a Project Comprising Varying Components?
  • Subsets Implemented Utilizing Different Technologies
  • Code and Reference Tables
  • Subsets Characterized by Technical or Other Complexities
  • Reused Code
  • Summary
  • 12 Using Project History Databases
  • Use of an Organization’s Own Experience Data
  • Use of the ISBSG Data
  • The ISBSG Repository
  • Guidelines for Use of the ISBSG Data
  • Presentation of Statistics
  • Using Several Estimation Approaches
  • Summary
  • 13 Project Estimation Using the ISBSG Repository
  • Case Study: A Student and Staff Records Management System (SSRM)
  • Overview
  • Functional Size Measurement
  • Project Work Effort and Duration Estimates
  • Example 1: Estimating Using Regression Equations
  • Using Regression Equations to Generate Estimates for SSRM
  • Regression Equations: Functional Size
  • Regression Equations: Functional Size and Maximum Team Size
  • Discussion
  • Example 2: Estimating Using Comparison
  • The Estimating by Comparison Technique
  • Using Estimating by Comparison to Generate Estimates for SSRM
  • Discussion
  • Example 3: Estimating Using Analogy
  • The Estimating by Analogy Technique
  • Using Estimating by Analogy to Generate Estimates for SSRM
  • Discussion
  • Summary
  • 14 Estimating for Agile Software Development
  • Estimating an Agile Project
  • Story Points
  • The Story Point Scale
  • Calibrating the Story Point Scale Using Past Projects
  • Development Team Velocity
  • Allocating Story Points to Stories
  • Estimating Total Project Schedule and Cost at Project Initiation
  • Allocating Stories to Individual Project Iterations
  • Reviewing the Process at Project Completion
  • Benefits of Agile Software Estimation Using Story Points
  • Comparing Story Points and Function Points
  • Summary
  • 15 A Guide to Estimating Project Cost Using ISBSG Data
  • Hourly Charge-Out Rate
  • Internal Project: Building Software for Your Own Organization
  • External Project: Building Software for an External Organization
  • Refining Hourly Charge-Out Rate for Project Team Structure
  • Indexing the Charge-Out Rate for Inflation and Currency Movements
  • Additional Cost Considerations
  • Costing Activities Outside Project Development Tasks
  • Costing Effort Contributed by Personnel Not Included in the PDR
  • Summary
  • Additional Steps to Calculate Non-PDR-Related Project Costs
  • 16 Creating a Software Project Estimation Framework Using the ISBSG Repository
  • Using the ISBSG PDR Tables to Create Tables for Your Estimating Framework
  • Step 1. Identify the Development Platforms
  • Step 2. Extract PDR Distributions Based on Development Languages
  • Step 3. Adjust the Extracted PDR Distributions According to Team Size
  • Step 4. Benchmarking Your Projects’ PDR
  • Step 5. Construct the Estimation Framework
  • Estimates Are Targets, Not Predictions
  • Calculating a Benchmark Estimate for a Planned Project
  • Step 1. Adjust PDR for Team Size
  • Step 2. Adjust PDR for Project Size
  • Step 3. Adjust PDR for Development Language
  • Step 4. Calculate Effort Estimate and Consider the Range of Probable Values
  • Summary
  • 17 Functional Size Measurement Methods in Use Today
  • How Many FSM Methods Are There?
  • Which FSM Method Should I Choose?
  • How Hard Is It to Measure Functional Size?
  • What Sort of Accuracy Can I Expect from an FSM Measurement?
  • The Value of FSM as a Size Measurement
  • Summary
  • 18 A Brief Tutorial on Functional Size Measurement (FSM)
  • ISO/IEC Definitions
  • What Is Functional Size?
  • Analogies to Illustrate Functional Sizing
  • The Key to Functional Size Measurement Is to “Think Logical”
  • Counting in FSM: An Example Using IFPUG Function Points
  • IFPUG Function Point Components
  • What Is Involved in IFPUG Function Point Counting?
  • The Logical Boundary
  • Where Does Functional Size Fit in with the ISBSG and Software Project Estimating?
  • Summary
  • 19 An IFPUG Function Point Case Study
  • New Development Case Study
  • Sample Set of User Requirements
  • Functional User Requirements
  • Functional Size Measurement Using ISO/IEC 20926: 2009 – IFPUG 4.3
  • Determining the Functional Size
  • Enhancement Case Study
  • Sample Set of User Requirements
  • Functional User Requirements
  • Types of Functional Size
  • Summary
  • 20 The COSMIC Functional Size Measurement Method
  • Overview of the COSMIC Functional Size Measurement Method
  • Applicability of the Method
  • The Principles for Measuring the COSMIC Functional Size of a Piece of Software
  • The Process for Measuring the COSMIC Functional Size of a Piece of Software
  • COSMIC Method Documentation
  • Summary
  • 21 A COSMIC Function Point Case Study
  • Analysis of the Size of the New Software to Be Developed
  • Analysis of the Size of the Enhancement to the Software
  • Overall Size of the Software After the Enhancement
  • Summary
  • 22 A FiSMA Function Point Case Study
  • Size Measurement of the New Software to Be Developed
  • Size Measurement of the Enhancement to the Software
  • Overall Size of the Software After the Enhancement
  • Summary
  • A: What Is in the ISBSG Repository?
  • Data Availability
  • Data Quality
  • What the ISBSG Data Can Be Used For
  • Considerations
  • ISBSG Project Data Positioning
  • Comparing Apples with Apples
  • Selecting a Suitable Data Subset
  • What You Can Find in the ISBSG Repository
  • Project Origin
  • Project Context
  • Type of Project
  • Type of Product
  • Development Environment
  • Methods and Tools
  • Summary
  • Additional Documentation
  • B: Project Delivery Rates by Category
  • Presentation of Statistics
  • Explanation of Tables
  • Use of the Statistics
  • Project Delivery Rates
  • Project Delivery Rate by Use of CASE Tools
  • Project Delivery Rate by Use of Methodology
  • Project Delivery Rate by Relationship Between Customer, Developers, Users
  • Project Delivery Rate by Project Size
  • Project Delivery Rate by Maximum Team Size
  • The Impact of Maximum Team Size and Project Size on Project Delivery Rate
  • C: Estimation Equations
  • What Are These Estimates Based On?
  • Which Equation(s) Should You Use?
  • Do These Equations Apply to My Project?
  • What Do the Statistics Mean?
  • D: Project Sample Demographics Used in Chapter 3
  • E: The Benefits of Submitting Projects to the ISBSG Repository
  • How to Submit a Project
  • A Description of the Project Benchmark Report
  • F: ISBSG Member Organizations
  • Glossary
  • Terms
  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • F
  • I
  • L
  • M
  • N
  • O
  • P
  • R
  • S
  • T
  • U
  • V
  • W
  • Metrics
  • References
  • Index