Software Project Effort Estimation

The environment and conditions surrounding a project, including factors like project type, team size, tools used, deadlines, and expectations.

The amount of work a team or individual can complete within a given timeframe. It's about efficiency and effectiveness.

The total time and resources needed to finish a project, including actual work effort and additional time for meetings and communication.

Factors that affect the amount of effort required for a project, such as task complexity, team experience, quality requirements, and risk factors.

The actual work done by individuals or the team to complete a project, measured in terms of time (hours, days, etc.). It reflects the energy spent on tasks.

An ongoing cycle that helps manage project time, budget, and goals. It involves continuous estimation and adjustment.

A key element of project management that supports estimating and tracking progress throughout the project lifecycle.

The process of breaking down a project into smaller units of work, enabling more accurate estimation and planning.

Using historical data and past project experiences to forecast the effort required for similar tasks in the current project.

A strategy for optimizing project effort by prioritizing tasks and allocating resources effectively.

The time and effort required to complete a project increases significantly when trying to shorten the development time, due to coordination overhead in larger teams.

Even if you add more people to a project, the total effort (time + people) required will always be greater than the effort needed by one person to complete it alone.

You can trade off time and team size to complete a project. More people generally mean faster completion, but coordination time must also be considered.

There's a limit to how fast a project can be completed, even with a large team and perfect coordination. The shortest possible time occurs when staff are allocated optimally, but coordination effort still adds time.

The area in a project effort-time chart where reducing the team size leads to disproportionate increases in project duration.

The area in a project effort-time chart where increasing the project team size leads to an increase in project coordination overhead that is disproportional to gains in project duration.

The fastest time a project can be completed, even with a large team and perfect coordination.

The smallest team size possible to complete a project, which generally requires longer time.

The process of determining the amount of time and effort needed to complete a project.

A structured approach to effort estimation involving defining the project, estimating volume, analyzing risks, estimating effort and time, creating a plan, executing and tracking progress, comparing estimates to actuals, controlling the project environment and scope, and packaging and storing project data.

The person who creates and maintains methods for determining project effort.

Someone who uses estimation methods to predict time, resources, and other project needs.

Someone who provides expert knowledge about the project and its specific challenges.

The individual who makes final decisions about the project, often not directly involved in estimations.

A visual representation of the balance between a project's scope, quality, and resources.

A graph that shows how staffing levels change over the software development lifecycle.

The relationship between development effort (resources and time) and development time.

A project where the focus is on building in quality during the early phases.

Software development is becoming increasingly complex due to various factors, including larger code bases, more intricate functionalities, and the integration of multiple technologies.

The rapid advancement of development technologies and paradigms forces developers to constantly adapt and learn new skills, making it hard to predict project timelines.

Distributed development teams, where members work remotely, can introduce communication challenges and complicate coordination efforts, affecting project predictability.

Software development heavily relies on human expertise and judgment, making it difficult to automate all aspects of the process and accurately predict the time and resources needed.

Software products are intangible, making it challenging to visualize and estimate their development effort, as opposed to tangible goods like cars or buildings.

Accurate project management and effort estimation are crucial factors for achieving project success, ensuring timely delivery within budget and meeting quality standards.

A good estimate provides a clear understanding of the project reality, empowering project leadership to make informed decisions and control the project effectively to meet its targets.

The target in internal project planning focuses on the effort and resources required to complete tasks, providing a realistic budget for time, people, and tools, anticipating potential challenges with contingency reserves.

A bid is an external agreement with contractors regarding the resources, price, and timeline for delivering a software product or service, focusing on the cost and completion time.

Factors like inexperienced estimators, arbitrary selection of methods, and blind usage of tools often lead to inaccurate estimations and unpredictable outcomes.