Software Cost Estimation Lecture 4

What is the primary objective of software cost estimation?

To introduce the fundamentals of software costing and pricing (correct)
To minimize the cost of software development
To predict the project timeline
To determine the price of software

What is a key question in fundamental estimation?

What is the project timeline?
What is the total cost of the project?
How much effort is required to complete an activity? (correct)
What is the total revenue of the project?

What is a dominant factor in most software projects?

Software costs
Hardware costs
Effort costs (correct)
Travel and training costs

What should be taken into account when calculating effort costs?

Overheads, salaries, and social costs (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is an example of a shared facility cost?

Staff restaurant (D) Signup and view all the answers

Why is software cost estimation important?

To estimate the total cost of the project (A) Signup and view all the answers

What is a challenge in making an accurate estimate of the effort required to develop a software system?

Initial estimates are based on inadequate information in a user requirements definition (C) Signup and view all the answers

Why might a development organisation quote a low price for a software project?

To move into a new segment of the software market (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is a limitation of the 'pricing to win' approach?

It is unethical and unbusinesslike. (A) Signup and view all the answers

What might an organisation do when faced with uncertain cost estimates?

Increase the price by a contingency amount (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is a potential consequence of project cost estimates?

The product is adjusted to meet the budget (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is the basis for agreeing on the project cost in the 'pricing to win' approach?

An outline proposal (C) Signup and view all the answers

Which estimation approach starts at the system level and assesses the overall system functionality?

Top-down estimation (D) Signup and view all the answers

How might a customer influence the price of a software project?

By allowing the developer to retain ownership of the source code (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is a limitation of top-down estimation?

It can underestimate the cost of solving difficult low-level technical problems (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is the formula used in algorithmic cost modelling?

Effort = A ´ SizeB ´ M (A) Signup and view all the answers

Why might an organisation lower its price to win a contract?

To account for requirement volatility (D) Signup and view all the answers

Why might a developer in financial difficulty lower their price?

To stay in business (D) Signup and view all the answers

When is bottom-up estimation most accurate?

When the system has been designed in detail (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is the most commonly used product attribute for cost estimation?

Code size (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is a common characteristic of top-down and bottom-up estimation?

Any of these approaches may be used top-down or bottom-up (B) Signup and view all the answers

What can be accurately known only when a software system is finished?

The size of the software system (D) Signup and view all the answers

What is the relationship between development cost and price charged?

The relationship is not always simple (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is the range of the value of exponent B in algorithmic cost modelling?

1 to 1.5 (C) Signup and view all the answers

What factors influence the final size of a software project?

Use of COTS and components; Programming language; Distribution of system (A) Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic of the COCOMO model?

It is an empirical model based on project experience (A) Signup and view all the answers

What is a limitation of the original COCOMO model?

It does not take into account different approaches to software development (A) Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of the Application Composition model in COCOMO 2?

To estimate software size when software is composed from existing parts (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is a difference between COCOMO 81 and COCOMO 2?

COCOMO 2 takes into account different approaches to software development (D) Signup and view all the answers

What is a benefit of using COCOMO 2?

It provides a more accurate estimate of software size (B) Signup and view all the answers