1. Cost Estimation Models

2. Introduction Goal of software project management:
enable a group of engineers to work efficiently towards successful completion of a software project.

3. Responsibility of project managers
Project proposal writing,
Project cost estimation,
Scheduling,
Project staffing,
Project monitoring and control,
Software configuration management,
Risk management,
Managerial report writing and presentations, etc.

4. Introduction A project manager’s activities are varied.
can be broadly classified into:
project planning,
project monitoring and control activities.

5. Project Planning Once a project is found to be feasible,
project managers undertake project planning.

6. Project Planning Activities
Estimation:
Effort, cost, resource, and project duration
Project scheduling:
Staff organization:
staffing plans
Risk handling:
identification, analysis, and abatement procedures
Miscellaneous plans:
quality assurance plan, configuration management plan, etc.

7. Project planning
Requires utmost care and attention --- commitments to unrealistic time and resource estimates result in:
irritating delays.
customer dissatisfaction
adverse affect on team morale
poor quality work
project failure.

8. Sliding Window Planning
Involves project planning over several stages:
protects managers from making big commitments too early.
More information becomes available as project progresses.
Facilitates accurate planning

9. SPMP Document After planning is complete: Document the plans:
in a Software Project Management Plan(SPMP) document.

10. Software Cost Estimation
Determine size of the product.
From the size estimate,
determine the effort needed.
From the effort estimate,
determine project duration, and cost.

11. Software Cost Estimation
Effort Estimation
Cost Estimation
Size Estimation
Staffing Estimation
Duration Estimation
Scheduling

12. Software Cost Estimation
Three main approaches to estimation:
Empirical
Heuristic
Analytical

13. Software Cost Estimation Techniques
Empirical techniques:
an educated guess based on past experience.
Heuristic techniques:
assume that the characteristics to be estimated can be expressed in terms of some mathematical expression.
Analytical techniques:
derive the required results starting from certain simple assumptions.

14. Software cost estimation
Predicting the resources required for a software development process

15. Fundamental estimation questions
How much effort is required to complete an activity?
How much calendar time is needed to complete an activity?
What is the total cost of an activity?
Project estimation and scheduling and interleaved management activities

16. Software cost components
Hardware and software costs
Travel and training costs
Effort costs (the dominant factor in most projects)
salaries of engineers involved in the project
Social and insurance costs
Effort costs must take overheads into account
costs of building, heating, lighting
costs of networking and communications
costs of shared facilities (e.g library, staff restaurant, etc.)

17. Costing and pricing
Estimates are made to discover the cost, to the developer, of producing a software system
There is not a simple relationship between the development cost and the price charged to the customer
Broader organisational, economic, political and business considerations influence the price charged

18. Software pricing factors