Software Estimation – What Exactly Is It?

For some, the cocktail question is easy. Lawyers only need to specify their field. Doctors, construction workers, and teachers can all clearly explain exactly what they do in a just a few words, saving the listener from having their eyes glaze over in confusion. However, when you work in software estimation, the answer to the question “Oh, what do you do?” is a little more difficult than most.

The difficulty lies in two prime areas. The first is that even now as people are moving more and more of their lives online, software estimation still isn’t used in a lot of jobs. The idea itself is slowly starting to take off, but to put it one way I’ve actually heard a coworker say “If you need [software estimation] then you already know what it is. If you don’t know, then you probably don’t need it.” Granted, my coworker’s view was a bit cynical, software estimation is a growing field – Apple’s new iTunes Genius is a very simple version of software estimation – but he does have more than hint of truth in his statement. Software estimation is used to make decisions that are relatively complicated, and those decisions are usually reserved for larger companies for which risks are to be avoided if at all possible.

How complicated? Well, Microsoft’s book on software estimation refers to it as a “black art” which is a bit of a harsh misnomer that casts software estimation as perhaps something that is evil. I can assure you, software estimation is anything but. The term “art” is kind of an interesting fit for just what software estimation does – as no two products use the same process to get the same results.

And of course, none of these actually do explain what software estimation is, or what it does. To put it simply – software estimation is process that takes all these disparate pieces of data, pours them all into a pot, and then predicts the future. Of course, that’s not what I tell people. No, I tell them it’s that I work with fact-based crystal balls. That always seems to go over better.

What to know how software estimation can help your company or organization? Then talk to the experts at Galorath.com.

Galorath, The Leading Experts in Software Estimation

Galorath began as a consulting firm in 1979, committed to assisting government and industry to improve their software and hardware development products and program management. SEER by Galorath was initially envisioned by a veteran project engineer and a team of senior scientists and analysts who experienced first hand the shortcomings of manual estimation processes: Information gaps, inconsistent processes, changing requirements, competing demands, and outside pressure borne of wishful thinking. Galorath has invested over two decades of research and development helping organizations better plan and control project costs, quality, duration and risk. Leveraging sophisticated modeling technology and project-applicable knowledge bases, SEER solutions are proven to accurately replicate real-world project outcomes more quickly and with much greater accuracy than any traditional estimating methodologies.

Today, Galorath provides the most comprehensive, intuitive tools in the industry, with a broad portfolio of solutions organized into in the following solution families:

The Galorath breakthrough is based on the twin ideals of enhanced functionality and ease-of-use. Every release is designed, not only to surpass our competitive offerings, but to do so while remaining fully accessible to novice users. The company culture reflects the company mission: Continuing innovation built on a foundation of sound scientific principles. The founding members of Galorath Incorporated are still with the company, continuously supplemented by new generations of talent that bring fresh and innovative perspectives within the integrated disciplines of project estimation, analysis, planning, and control.

Find out the latest by reading Dan Galorath’s Blog on Estimating.

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