Software Estimation BlogInformation on Cost Estimation & Software Estimating

So, you’ve checked over all of your initial data, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. You’ve double checked with the client and you know exactly what they think that they want. And you’ve plugged all of that carefully measured data into your software estimation program of choice and hit the enter key.

Congratulations and welcome to the baseline!

You’re now at the moment where if nothing changes (they will) and everything goes according to plan (they won’t), this is exact estimate of cost, team-size, and time relating to your project.

It’s a sound idea to take a good look at the baseline estimate before releasing it either internally or to the client on the offhand chance that there was an actual mistake on the initial data collection. If you’ve worked on similar projects before, and you have previous baseline estimates, these can be helpful for a quick comparison.

If everything appears to be in order, then the fun begins – the collection of “What if”s that can skillfully whittle down a baseline estimate into a lean, productive, completed project that lands under-budget and ahead of time.

Hey, welcome to 2009! It’s taken a while, but we’re finally at the point where we can go ahead and make our first estimate.

But first, a recap of the first four steps in software estimation process.

• Understanding the problem – not just what you want to estimate, but why you want to estimate it.
• Know the rules – Estimates are bound by rules and measurements, and you need to know what you’re measuring before you rush off and start.
• Data Collection – Make use of organized work sheets so that you can keep everything organized. If you need to know what to put on said worksheet, look back to steps 1 and 2.
• Identify Work Already Done – Sometimes, it’s more cost effective to look elsewhere for solutions.

By the time you get here, to step number 5, you’ve already done a great deal of work regarding your estimate. You’ve pondered, you’ve measured, you scribbled down numbers, you’ve looked at the entirety of the problem and you’ve broken it down into measureable parts. Now, it’s time to plug it all into a machine.

If you haven’t already, it’s a good idea to have a familiar set of eyes look over your work before handing it off to the computer, just to weed out any potential for human error. If you’re working on a project for a client, show them the numbers too.

After that, it’s time to run your first software estimation, establishing the baseline from which all other estimates and changes will be measured.