Best Practices for Software Projects -
Estimating
This year's newsletters will focus on best practices for Software
Development Projects. Each month will cover a different best practice
technique. This month focuses on improving project management with the
use of estimating techiques.
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Best Practices for Software
Projects - Estimating
Ever have a manager give you a
brief description of a possible project and ask you for an estimate? After
listening to the manager describe the project, you give him a
"seat-of-the-pants" estimate, explaining that that it is a ball-park estimate
based on what you've been told.
To your surprise, you learn a
week later that the manager has presented the estimate to a client and puts you
in charge of delivering a complete solution based on the estimate you provided.
You shockingly explain that the estimate was just a ball-park estimate and you
need to learn the detailed requirements before you can provide a final estimate.
The manager argues that it is too late for that, saying that the customer has
already approved your original estimate and the manager expects you deliver what
you initially agreed to.
Reluctantly, you proceed with
the original estimates. 12 months later, your manager calls you into his
office and asks why you are already 4 months late delivering the project and
wants to know how you could be so incompetent in your estimating (not
acknowledging that it was his fault for communicating the ball-park estimate to
the client in the first place)! Does this sound familiar?
Unfortunately, this happens
often. Most projects are underestimated by anywhere from 25 to 100
percent, and this is normally caused by providing preliminary estimates that are
published as the "golden estimate". To provide a better estimate, you must
make it all the way through the product design phase before publishing the
estimate, where it will have an error margin of 25%.
Researchers have found that
project estimates fall within a predictable range at various stages of the
software lifecycle. According to Boehbm 1995 (Cost Models for Future LIfe
Cycle Processes COCMO 2.0), your estimates will improve as the software
lifecycle matures:
As you can see, it is practically impossible to
provide an adequate estimate in the Initial Requirements stage, so don't fall
into that trap. Below are some tips for providing better estimates:
- Management Education
- If your manager is not an experienced project manager, explain the
estimating process to your manager so that they understand how estimates
improve as you know more about the project.
- Document Initial
Estimates as Ball-Parks - If your manager requires an initial estimate,
submit your estimate to them in writing, explaining in detail that the
estimate is a ball-park and should not be taken as a reliable estimate at
this stage of the project.
- Detailed Design Specs
- Insist that your team meets with the client to hash out all features of
the product. Then take those requirements back to your technical team
to get detailed design specifications. If the detailed design
specifications are done properly, your margin of error for the estimate
should be less than 25%.
- Risk Mitigation -
Document your project risks and add additional hours to your project plan
for risk mitigation.
- Project Management
- To stay on track with your deliverables, your team should meet regularly
to review progress and to aid team members that are falling behind.
Team leaders should provide regular code reviews to shorten testing cycles
and to prevent major errors from stalling your project schedule.
- Online Collaboration
- Use an online collaboration tool (web-based preferably) to manage your
entire life cycle and your project tasks as to improve project collaboration
and communication. A solid tool for this is Software Planner (http://www.softwareplanner.com).
Below are some
helpful templates to aid you in developing software solutions on-time and
on-budget:
About the Author
Steve Miller is the President of Pragmatic Software (http://www.PragmaticSW.com). With over 20 years of experience, Steve
has extensive knowledge in project management, software architecture and test
design. Steve publishes a monthly newsletter for companies that design and
develop software. You can read other newsletters at
http://www.PragmaticSW.com/Newsletters.htm. Steve's email is
steve.miller@PragmaticSW.com.
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