Software Estimation Master Class

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Software Estimation Master Class

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course overview

This course is an expanded version of Construx's popular Software Estimation in Depth seminar. Like that seminar, this course provides many useful rules of thumb and procedures for creating software estimates ("the art of estimation") and explores mathematical approaches to creating software project estimates ("the science of estimation").

This seminar features extensive lab work to give you hands-on experience creating many different kinds of software estimates--for agile projects and traditional projects and for large, medium, and small projects. You will practice the best methods for calibrating estimates to be accurate for your specific environment and kind of project. You will learn techniques for making sure estimation is treated as an analytical rather than a political process, and you will see how to negotiate effectively with other project stakeholders (such as marketing, management and your clients) so that everyone wins. Finally, you will learn how to manage estimation, including exploring the planning and tracking issues that are related to estimation. This seminar is based on the best selling book Software Estimation: Demystifying the Black Art, by Steve McConnell.

This course dives deeper into mathematically intensive methods than our Software Estimation in Depth seminar and explores more variations in estimation approaches between Agile and plan-driven projects. Attendees will need a scientific calculator for this course. Three days.

who should attend

This seminar will be useful to project managers, product managers, program managers, technical leads, software engineers, and others who want to gain a deep understanding of how to estimate software costs, schedules and/or features.

the seminar includes the following topics

Estimation Background

How good an estimator are you?
Estimation "art" vs. estimation "science"
Estimates, targets, and commitments
Kinds of estimates: macro vs. micro, top-down vs. bottom up, algorithmic vs. heuristic
Estimation's real role on software projects

Understanding Estimation Error

Typical levels of estimation accuracy
Potential (good) levels of estimation accuracy
The four sources of estimation error
Software's Cone of Uncertainty
The Feature Cone of Uncertainty

Getting Past Superficial Estimates

What is a good estimate?
What is a good estimation process?
Estimation's distinctly different roles at different points in a project

Improving Common Estimation Methods

Off-the-cuff estimates
Improving judgment-based estimates
Improving task-level estimates
Improving estimation by analogy
Improving estimation workshops

Success Factors for Excellent Estimates

Counting, computing, using judgment
Calibration and historical data
Estimating size
Estimating effort
Estimating schedule
Estimating features
Standardized estimating procedures for agile and plan-driven projects

Special Issues in Size Estimation

Techniques for measuring and estimating size
Role of "lines of code" in software estimates
Software's diseconomy of scale

Special Issues in Effort Estimation

Productivity variations across types of software
Calibration with industry data, company data, and project data
Estimating individuals' work
Models for estimating effort

Special Issues in Schedule Estimation

The schedule equation
Effect of schedule compression and expansion
The "impossible zone"

Estimation Management Issues

Estimation, planning, and tracking in general
Estimation, planning and tracking in Agile iterations
Estimation, planning and tracking in Scrum

Estimating in the Wide Part of the Cone of Uncertainty

Purpose of estimation in the wide part of the cone
Wide Band Delphi
T-Shirt Sizing
Fuzzy Logic
Function Points
Standard Components
Algorithmic Approaches
Putnam's Method
Cocomo II
Story Points
Planning Poker
Automated Estimation Support

Estimating in the Narrow Part of the Cone of Uncertainty

Purpose of estimation in the narrow part of the cone
Basic decomposition
Techniques for overcoming optimism in task-level (decomposed) estimates
The PERT formula
Decomposition by WBS
Creating meaningful "percent confident" estimates
Estimating defect correction work

Estimate Refinement and Project Tracking

Methods of quantifying estimation error
Using burn down charts for estimate refinement and project tracking
Release burn down charts
Iteration burn down charts
Using earned value for estimate refinement and project tracking
Building your own Cone of Uncertainty

Effective Estimate Presentation

Estimate presentation techniques
Case studies in estimate presentation and negotiation
Principled negotiation for software estimates

Creating a Personal Estimation Management Plan

available instructors

Steve Tockey, Steve McConnell

pmi information

Project Time Management, Project Scope Management, Project Cost Management

18 PDU

PMI PDU Reporting Instructions

questions?