Assignment

Of
Software project
Managment

Submitted to: Submitted By:

Ms. Manisha mam Karan Kalra

3450070004

Btech(cse)

RF17E1B48
 Part-A

Q.1 It seems odd that cost and schedule estimates are done developed during
software project planning-before detailed software requirement analysis or
design has been conducted. Discuss the main reasons for doing this are there
circumstances when it should not be done?

Answer: The four basic steps in software cost estimation are:

• Estimate the size of the development product. This generally ends up in
Either Lines of Code (LOC) or Function Points (FP), but there are other possible
Units of measure. A discussion of the pros & cons of each is discussed in some
Of the material referenced at the end of this report.
• Estimate the staff effort in person-months or person-hours.
• Estimate the schedule in calendar months.
• Estimate the project cost in dollars (or rupees)
• Cost estimation is done so that cost and schedule estimates are done developed during

It seems odd that cost and schedule estimates are done developed during software project planning-before
detailed software requirement analysis or design has been conducted even then Software cost and schedule
are done prior to software requirement analysis. The main reasons are

Problems of cost estimation

• Developing an estimate for a large software project is a complex task requiring a significant amount
of effort. Remember that estimates are done at various stages of the project
• Many people doing estimates have little experience doing them. Try to provide training and
mentoring
• People have a bias toward underestimation. Review estimates and ask important questions to make
sure estimates are not biased
• Management wants a number for a bid, not a real estimate. Project managers must negotiate with
project sponsors to create realistic cost estimates

Software cost estimation can be used in following way so that it can be effectively used by softwares
And various tools as specified under
• Spreadsheets are a common tool for resource planning, cost estimating, cost budgeting, and cost
control
• Many companies use more sophisticated and centralized financial applications software for cost
information
• Project management software has many cost-related features
 Q.2: As an expert if you are asked to provide an estimate of the effort required to make certain changes to a
piece of a software, what information would you like to have in your hand to assist you in making that
estimate?

Answer: Software development efforts estimation is the process of predicting the most realistic use of effort
required to develop or maintain software based on incomplete, uncertain and/or noisy input. Effort estimates
may be used as input to project plans, iteration plans, budgets, investment analyses, pricing processes and
bidding rounds.

Published surveys on estimation practice suggest that expert estimation is the dominant strategy when
estimating software development effort.

Typically, effort estimates are over-optimistic and there is a strong over-confidence in their accuracy. The
mean effort overrun seems to be about 30% and not decreasing over time. For a review of effort estimation
error surveys, see. However, the measurement of estimation error is not unproblematic, see Assessing and
interpreting the accuracy of effort estimates. The strong over-confidence in the accuracy of the effort
estimates is illustrated by the finding that, on average, if a software professional is 90% confident or “almost
sure” to include the actual effort in a minimum-maximum interval, the observed frequency of including the
actual effort is only 60-70% .

Currently the term “effort estimate” is used to denote as different concepts as most likely use of effort (modal
value), the effort that corresponds to a probability of 50% of not exceeding (median), the planned effort, the
budgeted effort or the effort used to propose a bid or price to the client. This is believed to be unfortunate,
because communication problems may occur and because the concepts serve different goals.

There are many psychological factors potentially explaining the strong tendency towards over-optimistic
effort estimates that need to be dealt with to increase accuracy of effort estimates. These factors are essential

The most robust finding, in many forecasting domains, is that combination of estimates from independent
sources, preferable applying different approaches, will on average improve the estimation accuracy.

In addition, other factors such as ease of understanding and communicating the results of an approach, ease of
use of an approach, cost of introduction of an approach should be considered in a selection process

Q.3: Software project complexity influences the estimation accuracy. Develop a list of software
characteristics that effect the complexity of a project. Prioritize the list .
Ans:-

The majority of research work carried out in the software cost estimation field has been devoted to
algorithmic models. However, by an overwhelming majority, expert judgement is the most commonly used
estimation method.
A Dutch study carried out by [HEMSTRA] revealed that 62% of estimators / organisations use this intuition
technique and a study carried out by [VIGDER & KARK] also confirmed the techniques popularity. In its
crudest form the expert judgement method involves consultation with one or more local experts who are
knowledgeable about the development environment or application domain to estimate the effort required to
complete a software project.
Amount of business change required. An organization with well-defined business processes that conform to
the business processes defined in the software will generally pay less for implementation than an organization
that needs a lot of business process change.

Skills and availability of the internal project team. An organization that has a well-formed internal project
team with skilled resources will generally pay less for implementation than an organization that depends
mostly on outside contractors to undertake implementation activities. (The organization with the well-formed
team is also at less risk of project failure.)

Choice of the implementation consulting partner. An organization that engages the help of a qualified systems
integrator (or the vendor's own consulting arm, if so qualified) will generally spend less on implementation
than an organization that chooses an SI with lesser skills or a poor track record in delivering services within
budget.

Part-B

Q.4: Decisions made by senior management can have a significant impact on the
effectiveness of a software engineering team. Provide five examples to illustrate this.

Answer: Following are the roles of senior management

The Project Management role is the first role in the senior management process that isn't on the main line. The
senior management does not a doing "real work." But he is managing all the work

The senior management role is one that is designed to help ensure that the software development process
works as it is intended. The senior management role works closely with the development management role in
order to facilitate, encourage and prioritize the process.

The seniormanagement role is perhaps the most clearly defined role within the software development process
due to the development of seniormanagement as a profession. (If you've not been following the series, you
might want to read Cracking the Code: Breaking Down the Software Development Roles.)

Q. 6 Cost estimates are inherently are risky irrespective of the estimation techniques
used. Suggest four ways in which the risk in a cost estimate can be reduced .

Ans: Cost estimation models are mathematical algorithms or parametric equations used to
estimate the costs of a product or project. The results of the models are typically necessary to
obtain approval to proceed, and are factored into business plans, budgets, and other financial
planning and tracking mechanisms.
These algorithms were originally performed manually but now are almost universally
computerized. They may be standardized (available in published texts or purchased
commercially) or proprietary, depending on the type of business, product, or project in question.
Simple models may use standard spreadsheet products.

Models typically function through the input of parameters that describe the attributes of the
product or project in question, and possibly physical resource requirements. The model then
provides as output various resources requirements in cost and time.

Cost modeling practitioners often have the titles of cost estimators, cost engineers, or parametric
analysts.