Software Estimation

Demystifying the Black Art

Стив Макконъл

За особеностите на екземпляра

Състояние:: Отлично
Език:: Английски
Наличност:: 1 бр.

За изданието

Издателство:: Microsoft Press
Година:: 2006 г.
Език:: Английски
Страници:: 308
Корици:: Меки
Поредици и библиотеки:: Developer Best Practices
Категория:: Компютри, софтуер, интернет
Ширина (мм):: 190
Височина (мм):: 228
Дебелина (мм):: 28
ISBN:: 9780735605350

About the Author: Steve McConnell is recognized as one of the premier authors and voices in the development community. He is Chief Software Engineer of Construx Software and was the lead developer of Construx Estimate and of SPC Estimate Professional, winner of Software Development magazine's Productivity Award. He is the author of several books, including Code Complete and Rapid Development, both honored with Software Development magazine's Jolt Award. •••••••••••••• Table of Contents Welcome. Acknowledgments List of Equations. List of Figures Part I Critical Estimation Concepts 1 What Is an "Estimate"? 1.1 Estimates, Targets, and Commitments 1.2 Relationship Between Estimates and Plans 1.3 Communicating about Estimates, Targets, and Commitments. 1.4 Estimates as Probability Statements 1.5 Common Definitions of a "Good" Estimate. 1.6 Estimates and Project Control 1.7 Estimation's Real Purpose 1.8 A Working Definition of a "Good Estimate". Additional Resources 2 How Good an Estimator Are You?. 2.1 A Simple Estimation Quiz 2.2 Discussion of Quiz Results. How Confident Is "90% Confident"? How Wide Should You Make Your Ranges? Where Does Pressure to Use Narrow Ranges Come From?. How Representative Is This Quiz of Real Software Estimates?.. 3 Value of Accurate Estimates. 3.1 Is It Better to Overestimate or Underestimate? Arguments Against Overestimation Arguments Against Underestimation Weighing the Arguments 3.2 Details on the Software Industry's Estimation Track Record. How Late Are the Late Projects? One Company's Experience The Software Industry's Systemic Problem 3.3 Benefits of Accurate Estimates 3.4 Value of Predictability Compared with Other Desirable Project Attributes. 3.5 Problems with Common Estimation Techniques Additional Resources Where Does Estimation Error Come From? 4.1 Sources of Estimation Uncertainty 4.2 The Cone of Uncertainty Can You Beat the Cone? The Cone Doesn't Narrow Itself. Accounting for the Cone of Uncertainty in Software Estimates. Relationship Between the Cone of Uncertainty and Commitment. The Cone of Uncertainty and Iterative Development 4.3 Chaotic Development Processes. 4.4 Unstable Requirements. Estimating Requirements Growth. 4.5 Omitted Activities 4.6 Unfounded Optimism.. 4.7 Subjectivity and Bias. 4.8 Off-the-Cuff Estimates 4.9 Unwarranted Precision. 4.10 Other Sources of Error Additional Resources. Estimate Influences 5.1 Project Size. Why Is This Book Discussing Size in Lines of Code?. Diseconomies of Scale When You Can Safely Ignore Diseconomies of Scale. Importance of Diseconomy of Scale in Software Estimation 5.2 Kind of Software Being Developed. 5.3 Personnel Factors. 5.4 Programming Language 5.5 Other Project Influences. 5.6 Diseconomies of Scale Revisited Additional Resources. Part II Fundamental Estimation Techniques Introduction to Estimation Techniques 6.1 Considerations in Choosing Estimation Techniques What's Being Estimated. Project Size Software Development Style Development Stage Accuracy Possible 6.2 Technique Applicability Tables Count, Compute, Judge 7.1 Count First. 7.2 What to Count 7.3 Use Computation to Convert Counts to Estimates. 7.4 Use Judgment Only as a Last Resort. Additional Resources Calibration and Historical Data 8.1 Improved Accuracy and Other Benefits of Historical Data Accounts for Organizational Influences Avoids Subjectivity and Unfounded Optimism Reduces Estimation Politics. 8.2 Data to Collect Issues Related to Size Measures. Issues Related to Effort Measures Issues Related to Calendar Time Measures Issues Related to Defect Measures. Other Data Collection Issues 8.3 How to Calibrate 8.4 Using Project Data to Refine Your Estimates 8.5 Calibration with Industry Average Data. 8.6 Summary. Additional Resources. 9 Individual Expert Judgment. 9.1 Structured Expert Judgment Who Creates the Estimates? Granularity Use of Ranges. Formulas. Checklists 9.2 Compare Estimates to Actuals. Additional Resources. Decomposition and Recomposition 10.1 Calculating an Accurate Overall Expected Case. The Law of Large Numbers How Small Should the Estimated Pieces Be?. 10.2 Decomposition via an Activity-Based Work Breakdown Structure 10.3 Hazards of Adding Up Best Case and Worst Case Estimates. Warning: Math Ahead! What Went Wrong?.. 10.4 Creating Meaningful Overall Best Case and Worst Case Estimates. Computing Aggregate Best and Worst Cases for Small Numbers of Tas (Simple Standard Deviation Formula). Computing Aggregate Best and Worst Cases for Large Numbers of Ta (Complex Standard Deviation Formula). Creating the Aggregate Best and Worst Case Estimates. Cautions About Percentage Confident Estimates. Additional Resources. Estimation by Analogy 11.1 Basic Approach to Estimating by Analogy Step 1: Get Detailed Size, Effort, and Cost Results for a Similar Previous Project. Step 2: Compare the Size of the New Project to a Similar Past Project. Step 3: Build Up the Estimate for the New Project's Size as a Percentag of the Old Project's Size Step 4: Create an Effort Estimate from the Size of the New Project Compared to the Previous Project Step 5: Check for Consistent Assumptions Across the Old and New Projects 11.2 Comments on Uncertainty in the Triad Estimate Estimation Uncertainty, Plans, and Commitments Proxy-Based Estimates 12.1 Fuzzy Logic. How to Get the Average Size Numbers How to Classify New Functionality How Not to Use Fuzzy Logic Extensions of Fuzzy Logic 12.2 Standard Components Using Standard Components with Percentiles. Limitations of Standard Components 12.3 Story Points. Cautions About Ratings Scales. 12.4 T-Shirt Sizing 12.5 Other Uses of Proxy-Based Techniques 12.6 Additional Resources. Expert Judgment in Groups. 13.1 Group Reviews 13.2 Wideband Delphi. Effectiveness of Wideband Delphi. "The Truth Is Out There" When to Use Wideband Delphi Additional Resources 14 Software Estimation Tools. 14.1 Things You Can Do with Tools That You Can't Do Manually. 14.2 Data You'll Need to Calibrate the Tools 14.3 One Thing You Shouldn't Do with a Tool Any More than You Should Do Otherwise 14.4 Summary of Available Tools. Additional Resources Use of Multiple Approaches. Additional Resources 16 Flow of Software Estimates on a Well-Estimated Project 16.1 Flow of an Individual Estimate on a Poorly Estimated Project. 16.2 Flow of an Individual Estimate on a Well-Estimated Project 16.3 Chronological Estimation Flow for an Entire Project. Estimation Flow for Large Projects Estimation Flow for Small Projects 16.4 Estimate Refinement.. 16.5 How to Present Reestimation to Other Project Stakeholders. When to Present the Reestimates What If Your Management Won't Let You Reestimate? 16.6 A View of a Well-Estimated Project 17 Standardized Estimation Procedures 17.1 Usual Elements of a Standardized Procedure 17.2 Fitting Estimation into a Stage-Gate Process 17.3 An Example of a Standardized Estimation Procedure for Sequential Projects 17.4 An Example of a Standardized Estimation Procedure for Iterative Projects. 17.5 An Example of a Standardized Estimation Procedure from an Advanced Organization. 17.6 Improving Your Standardized Procedure. Additional Resources. Part III Specific Estimation Challenges 18 Special Issues in Estimating Size 18.1 Challenges with Estimating Size Role of Lines of Code in Size Estimation 18.2 Function-Point Estimation Converting from Function Points to Lines of Code 18.3 Simplified Function-Point Techniques. The Dutch Method GUI Elements 18.4 Summary of Techniques for Estimating Size. Additional Resources. 19 Special Issues in Estimating Effort. 19.1 Influences on Effort. 19.2 Computing Effort from Size Computing Effort Estimates by Using Informal Comparison to Past Projects What Kinds of Effort Are Included in This Estimate? 19.3 Computing Effort Estimates by Using the Science of Estimation. 19.4 Industry-Average Effort Graphs. 19.5 ISBSG Method. 19.6 Comparing Effort Estimates Additional Resources Special Issues in Estimating Schedule. 20.1 The Basic Schedule Equation 20.2 Computing Schedule by Using Informal Comparisons to Past Projects 20.3 Jones's First-Order Estimation Practice. 20.4 Computing a Schedule Estimate by Using the Science of Estimation 20.5 Schedule Compression and the Shortest Possible Schedule 20.6 Tradeoffs Between Schedule and Effort Schedule Compression and Team Size 20.7 Schedule Estimation and Staffing Constraints. 20.8 Comparison of Results from Different Methods. Additional Resources Estimating Planning Parameters 21.1 Estimating Activity Breakdown on a Project Estimating Allocation of Effort to Different Technical Activities. Estimating Requirements Effort Estimating Management Effort Estimating Total Activity Adjustments Due to Project Type Example of Allocating Effort to Activities. Developerto-Tester Ratios 21.2 Estimating Schedule for Different Activities 21.3 Converting Estimated Effort (Ideal Effort) to Planned Effort 21.4 Cost Estimates. Overtime Is the Project Cost Based on Direct Cost, Fully Burdened Cost. or Some Other Variation? Other Direct Costs 21.5 Estimating Defect Production and Removal Estimating Defect Removal An Example of Estimating Defect-Removal Efficiency 21.6 Estimating Risk and Contingency Buffers 21.7 Other Rules of Thumb 21.8 Additional Resources 22 Estimate Presentation Styles 22.1 Communicating Estimate Assumptions 22.2 Expressing Uncertainty. Plus-or-Minus Qualifiers. Risk Quantification Confidence Factors Case-Based Estimates Coarse Dates and Time Periods. 22.3 Using Ranges (of Any Kind). Usefulness of Estimates Presented as Ranges Ranges and Commitments. Additional Resources. Politics, Negotiation, and Problem Solving 23.1 Attributes of Executives 23.2 Political Influences on Estimates. External Constraints.. Budgeting and Dates Negotiating an Estimate vs. Negotiating a Commitment. What to Do if Your Estimate Doesn't Get Accepted.. Responsibility of Technical Staff to Educate Nontechnical Stakeholders... 23.3 Problem Solving and Principled Negotiation A Problem-Solving Approach to Negotiation. Separate the People from the Problem Focus on Interests, Not Positions Invent Options for Mutual Gain Insist on Using Objective Criteria Additional Resources. A - Estimation Sanity Check B - Answers to Chapter 2 Quiz, "How Good an Estimator Are You? ". C - Software Estimation Tips Bibliography Index.